Stitched up souls
by Hanachu
Summary: Stein confronts his fear of allowing himself to feel romance when he begins to feel his fellow meister and love drifting away from him into the arms of her weapon, who seems to view their training as more than just an impersonal alliance...will he seek solace in an old lover? Lots of lemon and violence, Marie x Stein x OC x OC. Some SoMa.
1. Chapter 1

Before every great upheaval in your life, first there must be some semblance of normality. Because I had no intention of losing sleep when I would need to be as alert as ever tomorrow, I followed my usual nightly routine. Given the landscape we found ourselves surrounded in, there wasn't much that I could do, so after washing my face with the water from my wineskin. I unfolded my sleeping bag and wriggled worm-like inside of it, nestling my feet down as far as I could so they would become warm.

There are signs, if you know how to look for the, that someone is a human weapon. Search for the angular slicing cut style of spiky hair in loud, riotous colours, or the hint of cruelty swimming lazily like a shark behind their eyes. Still, that can't always let you know for sure. You only know when it's too late, the closer the bond between a weapon meister and human weapon, the harder between the two of them it is to discern.

I was powerful and higher up in the corporation, and so was closer to achieving my eventual final goal; I had eighty-three of the needed evil ninety-nine souls and one witch soul to attain a Death Scythe, more than some of the others. Though that could be largely attributed to the power of my weapon partner, Red Dwarf, my tall flaming haired soul eating colleague. So strong was the influence of our uncommonly close connection, nourished over the years to the point that we could sense each other's souls with Soul Perception without difficulty and the harmony of Soul Resonance came easily to us. Using Soul Perception I could see that his soul took the form of a burning red star which had incessantly burnt into embers and burst forth reborn in on itself in a continuous cycle of death and resurrection, which seemed to have no particular point of origin from the crimson-hot heat and light. My own was much simpler, a wavering blue-white which matched my eyes, rippling relentlessly like a flame somehow submerged into water. Though at first glance dubious, we matched well and were at our most destructive and constructive together.

Much like with the legendary hero blade Excalibur, it stated so on my resume that I was difficult to work and partner with; but that had been in the past. I had been through several human weapons that found me incompatible and impossible to be around even just in combat, I guess I was a difficult weapon meister, but the results spoke for themselves. I was often called to defeat and vanquish an evil soul despite my unusual methods to do so. It was rarer for a female weapon meister to also work along productively with a female human weapon, they had their own forms and personalities that could deceive most people after all, though I had once had the emotional and mental willpower to Resonance with twin human dagger weapons who worked in perfect synchronisation as the forms of young identical girls and once corresponding souls with the angel-faced executioner Justin Law before he went insane and vanished, the first guillotine human weapon to become a Death Scythe at thirteen without a weapon meister accompanying him.

I had picked up his annoying habit of blasting music through earphones so that people spoke to me without realizing I couldn't hear them to listen, and had my own set of headphones to block the noise of the world out now. In the end, we had parted ways bitterly because he felt I was incomparable to join forces with him because I was a woman, but because of him I learnt to love music and so it was just as well I and Red Dwarf had a telepathic link due our powerful bond which meant he could communicate with me still, which sometimes had its inconveniences. I had started with human weapons from a much younger age than most, back at DWMA, the Death Weapon Meister Academy or _Shinigami Buki Shokunin Senmon Gakkō_; literally meaning Shinigami Weapon Meister Vocational School. Attention had been risen and Death Shinigami the God of Death himself had certain rules bent for me because of my large, easily noticeable spirit, which often resulted in evil spirits attacking me though I was without a means to defend myself.

Though over the years he had become closer to me than any of my previous human weapon partners, and he shared many of my thoughts and memories, my burdening human form and complicated female budding emotions left me sometimes wishing I had a little privacy, but it was just something I coped and learnt to deal with. To his credit, Red Dwarf rarely commented on my lapses and our relationship was a purely professional one with the perks of our friend and companionship together.

Because of my wish to remain some solitude and emotional distance between us, though it was futile that he would always be inside my thoughts and I in his, we politely stayed out of each other's spiritual dimension, inside the soul of ourselves in whichever room or landscape best suited our thoughts, emotions and personality.

Red Dwarf, despite not being a Witch, was accomplished in the advanced art of Soul Protect, often camouflaging our souls to appear that of a normal human, neutralizing our Soul Wave Length, and his Super Soul Perception ability could detect souls over large distances and even detect some face to face lies. However due to the immense correlation of our strong Soul Resonance, this was tiring for him and he was unable to transform or battle whilst doing so, therefore he performed it rarely and mostly for my own benefit. With him being a much more sensitive and pensive personality, capable of sitting in one still position set for hours staring at nothing and seeing so much more than I, his Soul Perception came much more simpler to him than to myself, I had used to train and routinely assess people to strengthen it.

The first and only human possessing Super Soul Perception Joe 'Soul Striking' Buttataki of the Internal Affairs division detected spies simply by looking at them had been murdered by Justin Law, my previous partner, who was now working for a man-entity of much more vicious and dark intentions, I had heard he was becoming manipulated and warped. With a contact Maka Albarn also becoming a target for assassination due to her Soul Perception strengthening to the point that she may become the successor to the ability, I and Red Dwarf now chose to lay low.

Though we may have seemed at a mismatch with our differentiating control of destruction, he was an uncaring and destructive fighter who often tore up the landscape around him who out of battle was calm, collected and preferred to speak with me telepathically than move his lips and do so aloud. I however was a quiet and calculating and mainly concentrated on my Healing Wavelength, repairing and strengthening the Wavelength between us in battle and rejuvenating our tired spirit, mending our sustained wounds.

We had returned back from finding Giriko, trying to gain information on making Golem's from one of the first weapons in existence, living for over 800 years and eternally loyal to Arachne. Though initially interested and attracted to the piercings I had that he himself shared, the alcoholic had expressed that he had lived over thirty lives waiting for Arachne to arise once more, he acted offensively and easily angered, generally uncooperative. Although I heard learnt that like Justin Law, he was an autonomous weapon which could wield and fight for itself without a meister, I felt the efforts wasting finding him had not been fruitful and Red Dwarf had been quieter than usual since, catching on to my mood.

Still tired from transforming into his weapon form of the giant intimidating bazooka gun with double tiers barrels and a cross hair that never missed, he intended to rest now.

_Only one more weapon to find, Red. _His mind was a clean, blank slate which did not reply. The only indication he had heard was that he began to finish eating, his jaw unhinged snake-like and jutted forwards almost comically as he plucked up the last red soul where it hung quivering in the air, trailing its own feathery crimson tendrils upwards, giving it the appearance of floating fire. With ease he set it on his long, whip-like tongue and swallowed it whole without difficulty, I had seen this so many times before I no longer shivered as I once had done so when he devoured.

_I'm not sure Giriko even counter as an autonomous weapon…_I thought to myself, more than to him. _He sometimes self-builds his own meister in the form of a Golem, or the Oldest Golem._

_**Actually. I have bad news. **_I turned to him, expectant. He had sat down from where he was squatted into a crouch beside me; I flipped up a side of the sleeping bag so he could slip in beside me, the warmth his warmth instantly heating my own body. _**I have received word that**_ _**Tezca Tlipoca is dead. Only Lord Death can speak with him now. **_

Dismayed, I flipped onto my back to face the stars spread ahead over us, partially obscured by the large tree the branches of which crept across the moonlight bathing us in silver. _How? _

A part of me felt I already knew the answer, an old temporary partner which had presented a thorny adversary in the way of our course in the past, and that path was simple: power. Red Dwarf knew he had limitless abilities, I sometimes felt mildly dissatisfied that my own skills may hamper him from developing to his full potential, though he always said that was not the case.

_**Justin Law.**_ I nodded; the feeling clenching my gut had been correct _**Tlipoca has been decapitated. **_I said nothing, and for a moment we sat there in quiet, pondering silence which embodied most of our short conversations. Red Dwarf was a human weapon of few words, speaking mainly when needed or when spoken to _**You are…upset by this?**_

When I made no move to speak or even to incline my head, he gathered an arm loosely around me and pressed my head to his shoulder, his scent was clinical and faintly metallic but I had never found it displeasing_. So…what do we do now?_ I evaded the question.

He loosely rippled strands of my burning scarlet hair between his fingers, which matched his own, as he considered our next move of progress. With his own falling unkempt into his eyes to shadow them and hide his forehead, and in large spikes jutting upwards from his skull at the back, we could have been twins with mine in the same hue but falling to my lower back. However, there were many other more noticeable differences than our physical similarities, he was tall and preferred to be viewed as intimidating therefore never stooped, where as I was built more petite and slim than most, arms spanned me easily which was an inconvenience in battle and I came up to the lower pectorals of most people.

His fathomless black eyes, an orb cut from a fraction of starless night sky, were a far cry from my own the tone of melting azure glaciers, which betrayed every single of my emotions unless I kept them guarded and in check. And his were staring upwards but not truly taking note of anything, as he replied _**We could go and talk to Lord Death…or go after something more powerful than Kishin? **_

_What do you mean? _Casually, his fingers moved along my hairline to gently rub along the edge of my forehead before tracing down my jaw, soothingly. I could already feel sleep overtaking me from the relaxing, comforting gesture, so with a limp struggle pushed his hand away with mine, before rolling away onto my side with my back facing to him.

_**We've gained all the information we can on Cat Souls. Purple like a Witch Soul, every cat has nine of them. And Human Souls, deep blue…and tasty. **_

You almost sound as though you aren't one of us, partway. Are you implying we go after a Shinigami? Or an Immortal Soul? I've heard that they are green.

_**We'll discuss it in the morning. **_He consented, sensing my reluctance to converse the matter further and my imminent slumber, and curled around to cover me so that I would be warm even as I slept _**Goodnight Aoihoshi.**_

_Aka…_was the last word I thought as I passed into unconsciousness, weary.


	2. Chapter 2

"Aoihoshi" I opened my eyes immediately, such a rare occurrence it was what he spoke. His voice matched the tenor that in his mind, though much more darker and velvety, rippling over my ears.

"Aka?" I replied, a little blearily, shaking my head to dislodge sleep. I couldn't help but jolt backwards a little, kept close by the confines of the sleeping bag. He was staring at me with a sinister intention that filtered shards of ice down my spine, shaking me to my bones and heart with his unspeakable hunger.

_**We need to strengthen our soul resonance… **_

He reached forwards with a foreseen quickness to clasp my chin gently but firmly within the pad of his thumb and finger, angling his face towards mine. Obediently, I subjected myself to the cool, rippling waves pressing against my inner core as he shifted his mouth to cover my lips.

_But it's so early…I've just woken up._ My mind struggling a little against his, refusing. His sharp, jagged teeth began to nibble insistently against my lower lip, dragging it into his mouth and suckling it until I let out a small sigh, my soul drifting a little closer to his.

_**I decided last night, we should speak to Excalibur. Ask him what he knows on Immortal Souls…and he won't give up the information easily.**_In a casual movement, I raised my hand and pressed it to his cold, firm cheek; his own hand mimicked to cover mine until I grabbed at a rough hank of his hair and twisted his head to the side, almost roughly invading his mouth with my tongue. I entwined it with his own; darting and coiling playfully, feeling with each brush of the lithe appendages our souls gently flit about each other, occasionally drifting beside each other before teasingly fluttering back out of reach. My mind drifted and I began to wonder,

…_Does he enjoy this?_ A moment later, I immediately sharpened as I felt his arms pinion me to the front of him, crushing the line of me against his chest so that I felt his insistence. I felt guilty for allowing my mind to glide and wander, and vine-like wrapped around his waist to reach up the material of his plain cream shirt and grab at the exposed skin greedily.

_**You're only making it more difficult for our souls to Resonate thinking thoughts like that…**_He grabbed my free hand and pressed it against the front of his black trousers, my fingers felt the heat of his hardness beneath the cloth and I gasped, though I should have been used to his behaviour by now. His soul was nearing mine now, but mine was still shy of the overbearing brightness and flitted away. There was a time where a simple brush of the hands or compliment would have been enough for my soul to come flying to contact his, but when it had become tougher for us to harmonize he acclimatized to the challenge_…__**Does this make it obvious that I am?**_

By reflex, my grip tightened upon his groin and he let out a gasp which exposed the serrated shark jaw of his fangs before he plunged them down into my neck, my hips bucking with the pain and grazing against his, strengthening his enthusiasm as he grabbed at by thigh_….Red_. I felt my mind broaden and become open, wider and more vulnerable for him as my legs slowly inched apart to his insistent small circles rubbed on my leg. His soul neared mine and reached out a blazing tendril.

_**Don't worry; I'll take you back unspoiled.**_ His tone seemed a shade darker and more narcissical than usual, his lips curve into a cruel sham of a smile.

_Red…?_ I repeated, and once more as his mouth created a small path with his row of deadly knife-like teeth on the sensitive white skin of my vulnerable neck. My soul accepted the questing wisp of his and brought it back into itself, my back arched with a jerking jolt, my full breasts rubbing up against his chest. His impassive black eyes which spoke of nothing locked on mine as he reached forwards and grasped one, none to gently rotating it roughly against his palm, the thin material of my shirt grazing against my nipple until he could pinch and roll it between his finger and thumb. We both moaned in unison as I felt my nipples harden and peak into pert mounds and my and drifted downwards, my fingers began to slide beneath the hem of his trousers_…He's never let me go so far before. _His soul was pulling slowly towards mine as though attracted there by some inward pull.

_**You have no idea of how far I intend to let you go…**_he muttered, his voice was dark and heavy like layers of dripping chocolate, spoken venomously and seductively into the shell of my vulnerable ear, I shivered audibly and shook his grasp, so that he had to grip the frame of me and press it against him again with a harshness that made a second groan tear from between my lips. Our souls were now gently embracing and harmonizing together, though in a distant way I began to sense the influence of another nearby. He fisted a flower of material from the front of my shirt and yanked it, so that it tore to one side with a scatter of buttons. I gasped and leant away from him, but his arm was firm as he held me there, and there was a rush of cool air which ghosted against my sensitive exposed skin as he gently cupped the underside of one of my breasts and eased it out.

"Red" he raised his free hand to press against my mouth, the tentative probing fingers of which poked between my lips to part them and brush against my teeth and tongue teasingly as I felt the warm, moist halo of breath before a hot wet muscle lapped roughly against my nipple. I arched my back widely and banged into him roughly as he repeated the gesture, but struggled and wriggled a little as I began to resist him. The other, foreign soul's weight felt nearer now, I felt it prickle over my skin in confliction to the sparks of pleasure and strength of the soul resonance.

My mind tightened and my body froze as I recognized the pale grey-green wavering soul crossed with patchwork stitches and speared with a long steel bolt "Stein" my lips quivered, between Red's fingers insistently massaging them. Though he didn't move, I wriggled backwards and righted myself, hastily arranging my clothing in a manner which seemed much less conspicuous. I had just finished raking my fingers through my hair when the long, clothespin thin form of the stooping meister dragged himself out from behind the trees circling us in a loose clearing. The sun shone dappled on the wolf silver of his hair as he shook it out from his eyes, flashing behind his glasses, his shambling gait comforting.

_Stein is here so early…_

_**So you still aren't comfortable enough with him to call him Franken yet.**_ I turned to face Red, but his face was impassive. I cleared the frown from by clouded, dark brow to twist back, angling my elbows behind my lower back and thrust out my chest, cocking my head prettily to one side.

"Hello, Franken" I made a point of addressing him, and bowed neatly from the waist to him, as my shoulders lowered my hair parting to expose the tender skin at the back of my neck. He pressed his fingers gently against it before drifting his hand down my shoulder blades and loosely pushing me against him, I felt the familiar clinical and pine smell as I breathed in his white lab coat jacket, his hands were strange on me being where Red's had just a few moments earlier been lingering.

"Aoihoshi, I came to look for you" his voice was low and even, gentle to my ears. Only at the end was his tone so slightly cutting and calculating; he must have been worrying. I pulled my features into a wide, innocent smile and embraced him, interlinking his arms with mine and leaving not an inch of space between our chests; though my heart was thudding so hard he must have felt it move the material of shirt stitch-patterned grey and white shirt "Has he been pressuring you into attempting acts to strengthen your soul resonance again?" the look on his face said it all.

I cast a glance over to Red, who had not the shame nor inclination to seem even slightly abashed or embarrassed about his indecent behaviour, I could see Stein's eyes had been quite firmly affixed on the untended and obvious bulge in the rise of Red's trousers, which had he flushing a light pink. I couldn't understand why the overprotective and possessive Stein would be so comfortable sharing me in the name of power "I, I'm sorry" I flustered. He slipped his arm loosely around me and began to steer me back.

"One of these days, I might think you have more than a professional interest in Aoihoshi" Stein's tone was light hearted as always, but his mouth was creased into a sharp discontented frown. I stumbled as we walked when the words reached my ears, my lips parting with a short gasp. He took advantage to press his mouth against them, which caused coiling butterflies to writhe and thrash within my stomach.

_What did he mean by that…? It isn't like Franken to be so brash and vocal in his opinion…._

I kept my gaze locked away from Red; so that he knew I didn't want nor expect a reply from him. My mind was curved away and closed off from his now, a smooth bowl of a wall blocking between us of my own making as I focused the beam of my intention solely on my partner "You came so early today"

He waved his hand idly, mine rose to his back so I could feel the rough stitching keeping the white folds of his coat together, I felt the slim black bar of Spirit strapped to his back and flushed a deeper shade of purple, he must have also known what we were doing. I wondered why Spirit, and not Marie, was with him "Your weapon can pack up your things, I want you to come with me" he rubbed my skin gently with his finger, as though touching a reverent and breakable object of china and ice, as he usually treated me. He regarded Red as no little than an irksome presence; which I suppose to him he was, but I was often worried at what his true thoughts where on the nature of mine and my weapons close friendship which often also left me feeling confused.


	3. Chapter 3

We had walked some way, though my skin had gradually numbed and I no longer felt the after bubbles popping gently on my skin like the lightest of kisses alighting on my skin similar to butterflies. Now we were out of earshot, Stein suddenly stopped, taking Spirit from between his the blades of his shoulders, so that he materialized between us in a moment, dressed in his usual sharp black suit and shirt with cross formed tie and glinting cufflinks. The most powerful of the Death Scythe's had grown his long red hair a few inches lower, so that it rested against the collar of his open shirt, and his eyes winked and were playful, interested as always in the curves of my lithe and pert form as he alit them on me.

"Daily good greetings, oh fair one Aoihoshi. I'm so sorry we woke you from your slumber" he smiled and jerked a thumb towards his gleaming teeth at me. I rolled my eyes, used to his overly-complimentary and womanizing behaviour. He frowned at his secondary meister partner's lack of flattering remark towards my appearance.

"Ah" Stein ruffled my hair roughly, fingers toying with the finer strands at the base of my head "She doesn't need any more beauty sleep" I flushed a happy light cerise, and smiled up at him. He reflected it kindly back down to me "Well Spirit, we'll be seeing you" he raised his palm open to him, I kicked my foot in the dust to send a plume of clouded dirt into the air, the motes spiralling golden in the light.

"Oh, you're pushing me away already? Well, the happy lovers must have their reunion" he clapped his hands together "I'll let Lord Death know you're back shortly, but he probably won't need a briefing until tomorrow, or when Red makes his way back here later" he exposed another gleaming smile unto my presence.

Stein pushed me into the line of his side, crushing my arm slightly and ensuring I was safely wedged and secure under the angle where his arm connected to his shoulder and chest "Well, isn't that great. We can have an entire day together" his voice seemed a little clipped and strained, the syllables pushed through at the end.

"I'll get back to you soon" Spirit smiled, his thoughts probably already wandering to going to the nearest bar and drinking with Blair or concocting a new plan to win the affection of his distant daughter, Maka, the love of which he was always contending to attain.

I waited until he had left and turned the corner, a breeze catching my hair and sending the spirals whipping backwards and around my face to frame it, Stein held his hand to my cheek "Shall we get going?" I watched his eyes carefully, but there was nothing of his lower tone. I nodded happily and we remained close as we walked back to his laboratory and living quarters, which over the years I had attempted at least a little to give a comforting touch and more easy surroundings to be situated in, though he often forgot to take care of the flowers.

We walked in silence until we came to the familiar corner a few blocks away from the building set a little more remotely further than the dwellings around it, laboriously sprawling across the ground as though no one would dare oppose its white walls and large glass windows which reflected, not showing the inner confines of the rooms they let sunlight filter in through the panes of themselves "Cigarette?" I asked, taking the packet from my pocket and raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, thank you" I noticed his hands were shaking a little with exertion, and raised my head to check his expression again. He let out a long sigh as though exhausted which seemed to come from deep within the confines of himself "I worry about you being out there alone, still" he paused, his voice hitching. I pressed my palm lightly against his chest; his fingers swallowed to encase and interlink them and graze against my palm in soothing, tight circles "I shall request to Shinigami you go out on less assessments with Red" he finalized, his tone careful as though he could be tipped dangerously depending on my answer or lack of compliance.

"Of course" I kept my voice even and sated, though I removed my hand and smoothed them both in front of me, balled into a single fist I kept nestled in my lap against my groin. The fuzzy threatening shapes of danger swimming lazily like distant sharks behind the veiled shutters of his ash eyes the tone of a long aged dead fire had vanished, his gaze clearing "If that's what you think is best" I tipped a cigarette out and passed it to him, expecting him to take it and for myself to fetch another, but he grabbed my hand and held it firm.

"After all this time…you are still mine, aren't you Aoihoshi?" I noticed his brow seemed feverish and a light sweat had begun moistening his upper lip. I knew well of Stein's mood bursts and random bouts of insanity and for the most part knew how to deal with them, but it was less reassuring that they had been happening more so lately. _Maybe it's a good thing I will be back here home with him more…_

"Franken" I flicked my lighter and waved it under his waiting cigarette held aloft between his lips, expectant "Of course I am" I grabbed a fistful of his shirt to strengthen the meaning towards my words, there was a series of rotational clicks as he took the time to spin the large screw through his skull, sharpening his line of thought.

He took a sharp inhale of smoke, as I lit my own. Our footsteps had began once more and taken us to home; I wondered if within its dark confines he had planned a special surprise for my return, though I doubted it. Though he expressed his interest in me with intense attention and concern, random bursts of affection were not within his understanding to comprehend and carry out. My thin, white fingers traced delicately over his scar, following the red river of raised skin with a single line which I stopped to take off his glasses, he let out a happy sigh as I gently raked my fingers to push his fringe from his hair "Come on, stop being an idiot" I elbowed him with a little sharp force in the side, enough so he would feel it. It had the desired effect I hoped it would have, he smiled down at me and we finished off the dregs of our smouldering cigarette ends. I was sure he wished to feel the comfortable imprint of his finely sculpted behind on his revolving computer chair within a few minutes as much as I wished to rest my aching feet atop the glass coffee table in the one leisure room he had permitted with a steaming cup of hot chocolate and cupping the blazing stick of marijuana I looked forward to.

I was therefore surprised when he didn't immediately sit himself down in front of the blank screen of rolling words and numbers that would occupy his time for hours, I had only asked a few times on the nature of his research and had either become too lost and befuddled or frightened to venture further "Come on, you're bleeding" I gasped a little.

"I wasn't aware" I pouted, jutting my lower lip out a little. He shut the door and I followed him, patting my body down lightly, trying to find the source of the wound.

"Your neck" he prodded with one finger, before turning on the switch of the light so the laboratory was flooded with a bright beam. I again expected him to go about his usual business, but instead he surprised me by grasping me firmly by each hip, swinging me effortlessly into his arms as though I was nought less than a feather. I planted my fingers to my neck, my pulse was still fluttering like a caged birds' beneath my fragile skin, which came away wet and a little bloody. I remembered Red's sharp teeth and shivered, he responded by simply pressing his mouth to it with a faint kiss, sucking a little at the droplets of blood I had unearthed by disturbing the wound.

He sat me down upon the table, gently running his hands over my joints to check none of them had been harmed, though I suspect he enjoyed exploring my body and the curves he had explored so many times before "Really" I flustered, flapping and waving my open exposed palms in agitation "You don't have to" I smiled as he prepared the first aid kit, pressing a swab of cotton to the slight tear in my skin to cleanse it of blood.

"Lie down, so I can apply the binder" he instructed, and I was so distracted by the cool distraction of the dabbing cleaner that I did so, feeling the edge of the large examination table on my back, lifting my neck and twisting it to the side to make it easier for him, twinging as my neck stung a little as the wound tore open further around the edges of the skin.

"I'm sure it will heal on its own just fine" I attempted to amend, as he peeled the adhesive back from the plaster and smoothed it over my neck so it was covered. I smiled and made to shift slightly, perhaps to flip myself back upwards and kiss him for thanks, but I was firmly pinioned by an invisible force, though it seemed less like a palm forcing me submissive onto the surface and more so like a nipping sensation binding me at the seams to the table. I cast my eyes downwards without moving my head and noticed around every angle of me the small gleaming white stitches of Stein's soul thread sutures "Franken!"


	4. Chapter 4

"I can smell him on you" his voice came out threaded from where his back was turned to me, the slope of his shoulders was a tense hunk of muscle "I know where he touched you" he suddenly turned, slamming his palms on the table. The anger in his short, violent movements sent a sprinkle of light pain, an aching thudding remembrance in the slim scar rippling across my flat stomach from the last time he had lost control.

"Franken" I pleaded, my tone urging. My hands ached to touch him, to trace along the scars that cut jagged across his chest down the chiselled smooth expanse of a body many didn't still possess at his age, toned from combat training, starting from his right shoulder and ripping across to his left hip, where another started and patterned across his waist to the opposite handle of bone. If my fingers had been free, I would have boldly grabbed him by each piece of cool, hard metal and dragged his face downwards mine, as it was my skin was hurt red from the effort of just any form of movement.

"What did he do to you?" he leaned over me on the table, keeping one arm either side of my head, so that when I rose my eyes to level with his there was no escape from his gaze, intent on my own. Though I kept my eyes silent, I began to chew my lower lip and drag it between my teeth, and my sight drew down to my breasts. In a moment he swooped over me, straddling with a leg either side of my hips, I could see his hardness already swelling against his jeans and ached to touch the seam of his trousers with my tongue willing tongue.

"I'm sorry" I choked out as he swept his coat from his arms, tossing it onto the chair behind him, which fell backwards with a thud on the floor even despite the absence of its owner. He captured my mouth roughly at the same moment his hips ground right down into mine; I was trapped beneath the impossible amount of hardness. I moaned wetly against his mouth, seeking to capture a chunk of his lip as he bit mine, my tongue roving and protruding to explore and chase after his own "Red is just seeking ways to increase the strength of our soul harmonization"

Stein made a noise lowly in the back of his throat, as though he didn't believe my claim, or the true reasoning "I feel his influence on you here" my neck quickly became wet from the spreading sweeping motions of his tongue breaking from my face and chin to slather against my dainty jaw line, his hands ripping apart the rest of my shirt completely so that my heaving stomach and chest was exposed "And here" my breasts circled and tensed as the skin and flesh moulded beneath his palms as he simultaneously grabbed them, grinding the skin down and then teasing them outwards, pulling each breast out until I let out an anguished moan of almost-pain.

"You know it means nothing" I gasped, feeling a sudden freedom in my upper thighs and under my lower back, I could now tilt my back and rise myself a little from the table, though it was far from a release from my torturous prison "Stein!" I gasped, tore from my throat as my skin turned slick and shiny with his mouth fluid.

"You know to call me Franken" he admonished, giving the underside curve of my breast a bite that left a slight indent of printed tooth marks, making me squeal as he licked the sore and sensitive spot it created. My nipples had hardened to rosy pink nubs which he thumbed until they were reduced to soft rose petals, warming to his touch "I know somewhere he didn't touch" he muttered and deducted darkly, knowing there was one part of me that I would never give over willingly despite the promise of additional power. He slid off the table, bending my legs as easily as he would a toy puppet, my feet still stitched onto the table as was my upper half and arms; he cut the soul thread sutures to the other places to ease of movement; I wriggled as best as I could and protested as he pulled down my trousers, my hidden flesh tightening into salmon folds as he rippled a hand gently across my stomach, fishing a gasp from my throat.

"Please…Franken" I saw him unbutton his shirt, as I had hoped he would earlier, exposing the perfect but flawed planes of his mutilated, scarred and pale marble of his toned muscular pectorals and jutting lower stomach. He tossed it over the floor, and there was a creeping spider like quality to his movements as he crawled across my body, back onto the table, the cool expanse of his skin dragging against my stomach until he locked vision with me without blinking as with no further teasing plunged two of his fingers directly into me.

"He wouldn't do this, here" I moaned as he experimentally adjusted the two buried digits, my back again coming pinned upon the table "You wouldn't let him" I wished I could have shaken my head, my skin burned with embarrassment. I knew that with our strong link, Red could experience this as I was, hear his words and feel his hands scalding upon me as though they were touching his own skin. That was one of the reasons for the lack of physical touching between myself and Stein; it always felt as though there was another person in the room with us, which didn't suit me.

"Let me up, please…" he lowered his mouth, heavy and wanting, onto my chest to combine his tongue licking and sucking on my nipples and between the two humps of flesh to harden them to the point of pain as he loved to bring me close towards, and then leave me hovering and teasing.

"But you enjoy this" his fingers had now brought a steady rhythm, I felt the scar tissue on one of his fingers bump as they glided inside of me, I whimpered as his fingers gradually eased inwards and stretched the tight confines of my insides, preparing me for a larger object later. I knew that the words he spoke were true, he knew my own body better than I myself did, to a point only Red knew what would pleasure me more. I wondered what Stein got from this, did he enjoy having me pinned beneath him as helpless as one of his other experiments? He seemed to find entrapping me with tied and bound bandages exciting, or passing a stub of cigarette between us as we explored each other. With Red, I felt my own excitement and passion mirrored by him, or souls reflecting what passion we felt together and sending it back and forth with stimulation and thrill "You're so wet" his voice had taken on an entirely different and twisted tone now, one that I knew I had no reluctance for and parted my legs willingly, my breasts shuddering as I lifted my chin to nuzzle against his neck, he used his other hand to idly fondle one breast before smoothing over my hair.

"I…I want" I was having trouble finding my voice. I rubbed my nose and mouth against his neck after an earthquake shuddered through his frame to show he was enjoying himself.

"What do you want? Aoihoshi?" he began to simultaneously rub his thumb roughly against my clitoris, my juice dripping down to his knuckles "Or rather, who do you want?"

His words flared the power of my soul, I felt the stitches come away from the edges and seams of my body as though peeled or burnt free "You, Franken!" I gasped, moving my hand to my mouth to shield the gasp before I grabbed his shoulders, my fingers biting and leaving white pressure marks in his skin as I dragged his body to cover me further.

"You are certainly wet enough to suggest as such…" he stilled his hand, immediately my own reached down to grasp his wrist, silently urging him to continue. I was careful, wondering if he would leave me now mindless of me breaking his stitches, shivering with pleasure as his fingers withdrew stickily and he took a moment to lick them thoroughly clean, eyes met with mine all the while, and wondered if he would use his knives on me this time. I was shocked as he immediately unlaced his belt and threw the strip of leather to one side; it hit the side and fell to the floor with a clang and almost wet sounded slap, before he took off his trousers "Tell me that you want me"

He bent his head, placing butterfly kisses up my thighs, suckling gently at the skin, his tongue agilely slithering up the sensitive, juddering skin which almost cringed away from his touch "I – I want you" I admitted, the words heavy on my tongue, stubborn as I was to ever confess a weakness to him. I saw his head disappear between my legs and my breath stopped within my chest, my body entirely frozen as the gentlest of questing touches against my womanhood, almost poking like a small animal against my most sensitive regions. I hoped he would continue, but a moment later he raised above me, and I drank in the sight of his beautiful but broken body as my own heaved with jilted, irregular breaths "I want you" I repeated, my voice stronger as I gained the confidence to reach for him, feeling insecure even my own beauty and influence to assist him in gaining pleasure even as he petted his hands down me gently and bent my legs over his shoulders.

"I am nowhere near bored with the many mysteries your body presents to confound me with, Aoihoshi" he muttered as he gripped the base of his shaft between his fingers, using it to direct his throbbing, red and purple head wetly up and down grinding against my private, wet slit. I let out a dragged gasp of pain as he forced himself inside of me, steadily sliding in each inch until I was filled up until the hilt of him and I felt the thinly skin covered bones of his hips serrate and grind against the back of my thighs as he eagerly began to pound into me, the table screeching as it gradually moved erratically across the polished laminated floor.

He increased this until the point where anguished screams tore from between my clenched teeth as he worked me raw, alternating between grabbing my hips and pulling me forwards onto his lap with my ankles linked behind the base of his neck with his head peering between them, and then grabbing them and pulling them over one side of his shoulder and ramming deeper inside of me "Franken, please. Slow down!" I managed to ask, and for a moment my body could relax as he pressed a kiss to my brow, before withdrawing and standing properly, legs resting as he stood next to the table. His glasses had been knocked askew by the exertion, I pushed myself upwards onto my elbows, the light dappling across my body as I shifted and gently removed them from his face, and he shivered as he lowered his head to hide his gaze from me. I pushed a slim finger under his chin and raised his, shadows of his fringe fell into his eyes and he appeared to be naïve and years younger, yet also still sinister.

He stood there for a moment, unsure and watching me nervously, his eyes darting from side to side to watch the voluptuous swaying movements of my body as I twisted my body so that I was knelt on the table, it could surely take the weight of me if it had resisted and held strong against "Aoihoshi, aoihoshi" he repeatedly murmured my name as though it were a prayer or mantra to contain himself as I eased myself backwards and pushed my unyielding self onto him, feeling the raw walls inside of me taunt and tense as his rigid stiffness entered me once more, pushing and bucking his hips to the point it felt as though the tip of him was entering to the point it broke through my hips and pierced my ribs to my lungs. A moment later, his pace increased as his hands roamed my body openly to the strident squeaks of the table moving and the loud, wet slaps as our sweaty untamed skin contacted together.


	5. Chapter 5

"Franken, please. Finish right inside of me" I begged, crooning, my voice husky. He moved his hand gently along my elbow to my upper arm, so that I moved to lace them around his neck, his forehead pressed to rest gently against mine as his light sweat dripped gently onto my own face. I felt how near he was to losing control completely, his mind working to manage himself and be in command of his own sanity even as pleasure loosened his mind, this was always dangerous for us.

"Of…course" he gasped, panting with exertion. I could tell from the light shudders ravaging his arms from where they touched upon me lightly, grazing my nipples and kneading my stomach, occasionally a rough palm smacking lightly to redden my buttocks, giving each part of my body equal parts of attention, that he was ready. I suddenly became aware of a niggling sensation I had felt earlier, another soul nearby, I knew that it would have to be close to be aware of it watching, and that it would be a familiar one as I had not noticed its presence immediately. I felt Red was nearby, outside of the building only a scant handful of minutes from where we were making I imagine a large amount of noise. I blushed red but couldn't help a moan escaping as a hand cupped my buttocks affectionately, fondling them before delivering another harsh slap to wriggle them. I felt Red was pleasuring himself to the sound and sensation of my moans, the gratification he felt echoed against his own soul with our strong connection.

I went a furious purple and changed the pace, instead rocking backwards to meet him, the wet smacks increasing and resounding, punctuating with the low, deep noises rumbling from his chest as he began to moan, my high drawn out keening of passion chirping after him "Franken" I moved my mouth to cover his, one hand grabbing the back of his head roughly and yanking it to one side, riding the pain to take him over the edge so a moment later as his torn throat sounded out my name on a cry that verged on terror, Stein was always so careful to never lose control.

The white red wet heat exploded deep inside the red hot core pulsating inside of me, my legs quivered and fell slack beneath him as my spent body gave in to the stress it had received, my sides shaking as I thudded lightly onto the table top, him still inside me slowly softening and resting atop me, my body taking the weight of him so hard I could feel the harsh beat of his heart against my skin "Aoihoshi…I love you" he fingered the fine strands of hair below my ears, cupping my jaw almost tenderly. My fingers traced his delicate scar across his face, when he had dared to experiment upon himself.

"Oh…Franken…" he smiled as my voice came out soft, girlish, sugared like a sweet heroine from the movies swooning in her saviours arms "I love you too".


	6. Chapter 6

"Stein, hot coffee and a cigarette for the professor who never sleeps" I chirped avidly as I approached his work desk to which I received a deep, drawn out moan in response to the this morning more zombie like man whose complexion was more ashen than usual. I rested both of the prepared items I had mentioned upon the table next to his keyboard upon which his hands did not still yet whilst avidly typing he turned the side of his head and pressed it under my breasts where it could reach from his sat down position, "Someone was up all night again.." I commented in a drier tone as he paused for a moment with one hand continuing with the other to pluck up the cigarette and twirl it before popping it between his lips. His undistracted gaze was locked upon the screen which cast a bleach upon his drawn features, I took a cigarette for myself and stowed it in my pocket for later.

"Morning Aoihoshi. Science doesn't sleep, so why should I?" he mumbled around the filter tip and I fondled some of the silky strands of his hair pale in the early morning light seeping in through a crack in the curtain and used my other hand to pick a peace of lint from his white turtle neck jumper.

"Because I missed you in bed last night" my eyes fixed on the indiscernible array of constantly shifting equations and formulae on the computer screen before grabbing his lighter abandoned next to the mouse, I lit the cigarette for him and set it back. I took a quick look around the room with a sigh, that potted plant closest by the window needed watering again and the stitch patterned pale grey carpet had moody footprints.

He took a deep drag before replying without much considered thought, "I'll make it up to you" he promised without his expression moving once to regard me - utterly engrossed in his work, he took another deep inhale and I took a moment to grab his ashtray from the lounge and slid it under his chin on the desk, he nodded silently in thanks and with a sigh I pulled on my coat and fussily adjusted the sleeves as I checked my schedule wrote down in my untidy on a piece of paper pinned onto the side of the book cupboard.

"You said that when you worked late yesterday. And how will you when you can barely sit up straight?" I reminded him in an idle but slightly accusatory tone hoping that he would give me a quick kiss and was left disappointed, "I'll see you in an hour or two - be showered by the time I get back" I called out warning him sternly before shutting the front door and walking down the small pebbledash path leading through his unkempt front garden, I noted the overgrown tangled thorny dark green weeds with another sigh and raise of my eyes to the heavens and shook some of my bright red fringe out from where it clung to my lashes before putting in my earphones and turning up the music to its usual drum bursting volume that drowned out all other noise.

I was fussing through my bag slung on one shoulder a few minutes later as I walked my way towards Death City without paying any real attention with idle fumbles, my mind elsewhere on Stein's recent emotional distance so felt some surprise when Red stepped out from where he had been leaning up against a tree when usually I could sense him from a mile away off - his unruly spiked hair was distinctive against the shadow from the leaves, the bark of the trunk and the dark shirt he wore, "Hey" I greeted him probably a little loudly because of my music and mustered a smile. I had no idea where he stayed during our time apart or how he knew how to drop by at the times when I was alone during moments we were not assigned to be together but over the years had never brought it up with him, it was simply accepted - amongst a lot of other things.

He nodded without changing expression but I could discern from the emerging ripples in our wavelength that he was pleased to see me,**_ Aoihoshi, what's with you?_** Evidently since it worked both ways he could sense own anxiety which caused my usually pale to flush cerise as I realised hearing his voice had lessened it. We began walking an arms span distance apart down the abandoned maze like streets of white red walled houses adorned with Shinigami masks, I had to look up at him to meet his eyes due to the difference in our height with his tall, well built frame and my tiny diminutive own which looked incapable of holding a weapon as heavy as him. We rounded a corner and minced carefully through a puddle laden alleyway decorating with bright graffiti posters.

_Nothing_, I irritably replied shortly and stubbornly strove to keep up a stiff mental barricade between us as I felt him try to begin probing. His immense, brooding crimson soul was as burning as ever and piercing in its brightness even when it became overcome and submerged by the pale cerulean rivulets of my own.

_**Doesn't seem like nothing, **_he remarked and I could feel his dry accusation resound through the planes of my mind before he withdrew. The physical space between us lessened as it grew busier the deeper we paced into the city although most people strove to avoid our path intimidated by Red's appearance as he loomed protectively over me - his shadow casting an imposing print upon the pavement stones. With that well toned body that towered above others despite always slouched apologetically, uncared for appearance with his past war scars stridently visible through his dark baggy clothing and viciously alarmingly coloured hair styled like he had just gotten out from bed he was a dangerous figure. Although the tall, gothic structured architecture carved with sneering and grimacing faces blocked out the yellow ball of the grinning sun it's heat still made its way down through the towering spires as we avoided the busy stalls noisy with the chatter of the gathered customers bargaining and hawkers stridently calling out their presented wares to come to the end of our journey outside the public library next to the delicious smelling DeathBucks.

I relished the cooler clean air as we stepped inside the sudden silence of the quiet bubble of strict conduct being inside such a building entailed as our shoes tap and clicked in unison across the polished marble floor to the reception where we presented our passes to the elderly woman stamping piles of books behind her desk and we were allowed through. She glared at my retreating back from which resounded the tinnied song I was listening to muted by the earphones and her lips parted in silent shock when Red turned and silently unbeknownst to me rudely gave her the middle finger.

_**So what we we looking for**_? He asked wonderingly despite keeping a painfully nonchalant tone as we passed the small cluster of round tables where a few tired looking young students were grabbing some last minute studying over to the older section of dusty unkempt bookshelves dedicated to The Grim Times and the Eight Powerful Warriors where others rarely trod.

_I'll let you know when I see it_...I replied with all the warmth of a viper as I used one paint decorated long nailed finger to trace the spines of the books feeling the variation in each choice of cover material as I read the embossed titles stamped upon them; I began to bend lower to view the volumes stacked on the lower shelves.

_**Well somebody certainly is in no mood to talk today**_ he commented snarkily and I span around to fix him with a glare, noticing that his expressionless onyx black eyes were still fixed where they had been watching me bent over a scant second before they quickly flicked up to meet my own. Strange that I could be so relieved other ears were incapable of hearing the conversation taking place between us telepathically yet also conflicted in my irritance that he could read me so openly with unrivalled ease. Despite the calming effect that the solitude and almost dignified reverence of the silent library usually had upon me today it wouldn't break through any chink in my armour to my aura.

_I just so happen to have nothing to say to you_ I responded in a voice that brooked no argument or further pursuit of this conversation as my face twisted into an ugly frown before I went back to perusing the heavier thick paged literature on the higher shelves, stretching up on the tips of my toes when my lack of height wouldn't allow even my fingertips to brush the bottoms of them. I felt the warmth of his body behind me as his stone firm immoveable chest and stomach pressed up against my back and shoulder blades with a proximity my closeness to the shelves did not bode for escape from, the heady hot-sweet cloud of cinnamon and strike-matchstick scent enveloped me as he leant an arm over and supported his weight against the metal frame. Just like that, his energetic soul easily brushed up against mine before confidently enveloping it until its heat began to bubble the usually calm waves of mine until they roiled.

**_Anything in particular that you're failing to reach?_** He asked as I let out a loud squeak at his proximity which had a middle aged man in jeans and a t-shirt further down the aisle adjacent to ours stare. I settled my weight back onto the flat of my feet and turned with my face turned upwards so that I wouldn't be eye level with his chest as I usually was, the bridge of my nose sprinkled with strawberry dust in the line of his static, dead space deep orbs shadowed by his vivid, flaming fringe.

_No, come on. We may as well leave, I can't concentrate when you're here anyway_ I half-scolded him as I ducked out from under his arm to walk briskly away from him to give us a tangible distance and clear my head somewhat - not that I truly could with him within a few miles. But with each step my soul began to simmer down until it was a bright azure ball only beating now with a quicksilver fluidity and my beating pulse lessened.

**_You can't concentrate with me around, why is that_**? He easily grabbed my wrist smoothly to instantly stop me as he quickly paced to my side and dropped his firm grip downward so his warm hand enclosed mine. As we resumed walking it was hand in hand as I was distracted by the glare of the elderly lady behind the desk as cold as the pearl necklace around her neck, I sent Red an enquiring glance below a tilted crimson eyebrow but he shrugged and gave me an innocent look. I ignored his question and to my surprise he didn't press the issue as he usually would or perhaps he already knew and enquired only to tease me.

Our entwined fingers resumed so as we walked out back into the streets past the drug store, Chupa Cabra's where the carabet club girls in their skimpy outfits sent Red openly admiring glances which I saw he just as openly ignored and Death Records. I stopped by for a brief moment without any real intention of purchasing anything and was surprised when Red not only came inside with me instead of waiting outside like he usually did and opened the door, inside was lit only by the light streaming in by the windows which lent a cosy quality to the rows of neatly alphabetically records in their paper sleeves and plastic cased CDs. Perhaps it was my haphazard weaving throughout the aisles or the intimidating nearness of Red constantly by my elbow moving in unison with me but none if the work attendees bothered us and they seemed strangely relieved when we left minutes later, but they were usually polite and happy to see me when I came in on my own.

Red said nothing although he must have picked up on my natural confusion towards the change in their actions, once outside I fished in my pockets and brought out the cigarette from earlier slightly crumpled from walking and when fishing for a lighter my weapon partner rolled his tongue and stuck out one dark metallic finger hollow and shaped like the muzzle of a gun, I sent him a thankful but apologetic smile as I bent my head over it and he lit it with a small flame easily which didn't singe a single one of my longer hairs. I raised my head and took a few quick puffs to get it properly started before bringing it away from my mouth and he waggled his finger back into its human form, we resumed walking.

**_So, how about we go some place quiet and do some target practice_**? He offered and slung his arm around my shoulder only for it to hit against his side as I swiftly slid back out from underneath it, he gave me a hurt and questioning look before adding, **_Strengthen our Soul Resonance_**? He raised an eyebrow in a way which looked almost comical had his eyes not been the same two black chips of coal that they always were beneath the lashes as thick and long as my own.

I shook my head, **_I told Stein that I wouldn't be out for too long so he's expecting me back soon_**. I tried to keep the thoughts of him stuck to his computer screen as he had been earlier despite my devoted attentions and cold bed the night before or the ice sharp feeling of neglect in my chest that had followed it. We hardly needed to practice on our impeccable aim, anyway - he knew that. Out of the two of us, it was always me who had to keep up hard work and struggle to keep my body toned in striving to be a meister suitable of wielding his powers.

**_Franken_**, he corrected me and as my cheeks reddened I was glad that my face had already been down to watch the street cobbles pass by as I walked without counting them, I'll walk you back.

Knowing that refusing his offer was inconsequential because he would resolutely do so anyway as though he hadn't heard me I nodded and thanked him. Though holding hands in the busier streets had been acceptable the second time he grabbed my wrist once more in the quieter lanes I again struggled to have him relent it despite knowing I couldn't break his grip until he wanted to let me go; anxious that somebody Stein knew might see us and get the wrong idea. My tension and anxiety was strong enough that he sensed it and dropped my hand with an offended air and we resumed in silence until we reached the familiar stitch patterned grey and off white abode on the lonely outskirts of Death City just inside of the curve of Shinigami-Sama's huge protective yellow soul that possessively crouched low over the entire area of Nevada jealously to encompass it.

"So I'll see you tomorrow" he spoke aloud outside the fence that bordered the overgrown garden and just managed to hold the thorny vines in, it was a statement not a suggestion, I wondered why he was speaking aloud to me instead of inside our mind link and then realised it was in the hopes that Stein would hear us as he probably would which had me childishly puffing up my cheeks with air and scowling at him. The large, staged laugh he performed largely for show as no merriment sparkled in his eyes which regarded me with a curious expression in contrast to the happy noise didn't help the situation he was trying to paint with his sounds. He bent to kiss my cheek and sent me the same easy grin he always did that never reached his eyes as I ducked out of the way and turned to leave with his hand raised in goodbye without waving as he walked away, for a moment I stood rooted there confusedly shaking my head in mystification at his bemusing actions before making my way through what remained of the pathway towards the front door. I let myself inside the dark interior.


	7. Chapter 7

It took a moment as my eyes adjusted to the gloom inside as I shut the door as quietly as I could behind me so as not to disturb him, I needn't had bothered as I saw that his chair was vacant of its usual occupant which had left a firm imprint upon the seat from long hours of use and aside from the quiet whir of the computer as it logged numbers it was surprisingly devoid of noise.

"S-!" I began to shout and then corrected myself, "-Franken!" I called stridently as I pulled off my bag and slung it onto the rack before shrugging off my coat and hanging it up to on top cover it. I took the last drags of my cigarette and stubbed it out in the ashtray which despite I had cleaned that morning was now almost overflowing with used ends smoked down to the tip before picking up his favourite grey stitched mug and walking into the kitchen to check if he was in there; upon his absence turning on the pot of coffee to brew a fresh cup. I let out a sigh, he couldn't have gone out forgetting to lock the door with his sleep deprived state could he?

I repeated calling his name a little louder and slipped off my shoes to pad in my socks down the hallway when I heard an answering call in the direction of the other side of the small house quiet with the walls between me and the source of the noise. The further I went the closer I felt his large, powerful blue soul a touch closer to blinding white than my own punctured through with a large nail.I opened the door to the bathroom first and could not help but scold him aloud when I heard that the shower was not running and the room was unoccupied - he had better have showered like I told him too!

With that in mind I tried the bedroom last. He was sat up topless beneath the duvets upon the black white stitch decorated bed sheets with his broad shoulders resting back against the head board and smiled gently when I entered and closed the door behind me, I noticed the scar crickle adorably across the bridge of his nose with the change of expression because he wasn't wearing his glasses and immediately began to admire the planes of his handsome face so familiar to me and perfect in my opinion despite its obvious marring. I immediately walked over and apologised,

"I'm sorry if I woke you after nagging that you need to get more rest" I sat obediently when he patted the bed beside him with a stitch adorned hand and gave a happy smile when he budged across so I could lay next to him atop the covers with my head rested on the plane of his nude scarred chest, hewn together as though it had been made for the curve of my cheek.

"I believe you were actually complaining that I haven't been spending enough time with you" he responded dryly and raised a thick slate grey eyebrow, I shyly peeked up with an obviously guilty expression and he gave a short laugh when he noticed it; like this our faces were up so close I could see the pale yellow tint of his lazily slanted eyes.

"Something like that, maybe" I acquiesced softly into the warm crook of his neck so heated despite the cold cast one would associate with skin such a pale off cream sickly hue as he used his long tapering fingers to comb through my hair admiring the blood bright colour and received a happy noise from the back of my throat in response "So what have you been so busy with?" I asked, knowing he enjoyed explaining his processes and theories even if some of the time I nodded along and had to pretend to underspent and the more convoluted ones.

"Something like that, maybe" he mimicked me with a calculating smile and as rose his arm to cup my cheek the covers fell down further to expose some if the lower sharp defined planes of his sculpted scarred abdomen, "Let me show you." he spoke between dropping open, hot kisses in my surprised parted lips, "What" his other hand rose to grip my face and I automatically slithered closer to him, pressed as hard as I could in response to the line of his body as though I could tear through the duvet separating us "I've been so busy with..." In response I made a noise that was most definitely not protest as my cooly hued soul drew against his and met no resistance.

My eyes drifted closed slowly as he lowered his strong thick knuckled hand to draw long strokes up and down rhythmically down my side as though trying to charm a dangerous animal as his tongue slipped to rub against mine and run agitatedly over my teeth; there was a rustle of rummaging as he dragged the sheet out from underneath me and I joined him in the warmth beneath them when he dragged it over up to my shoulders. I let out a loud almost shriek and opened my eyes from shock when my hand went down to his waist in the hidden darkness and I noticed he was also bare on his lower half - he didn't usually sleep naked; and he grinned to how his teeth, his hand moving to rotate large screw piercing through his head the hidden by the long silken strands of his silver grey hair in a series of clicks. I nestled close to him as he tucked me neatly under his broad muscled arm giving my bruised lips a respite for a moment.

"I'm spending time with you now" he unbuttoned my black tshirt to expose the scant lacy material of my bra when my covered breasts escaped, he tutted as though the clothing irritated him and I eagerly peeled off the remains down my arms and tossed it onto the floor, he reached around my back to unclip the back and after extracting my arms from the straps he dropped it over the side of the bed as my hands moved down the planes of his stomach to toy with the light thin curly hairs of his groin. He gave me an open lipped kiss again with one hand grabbing the back of my skull to stop my teasing and the other encasing mine to guide it downwards quicker, we both moaned in surprise and my pupils dilated in surprise as my palm met the immeasurably huge erection which was noticeably larger than it had ever been before. I ducked my head beneath the covers as shocked curiosity overcame my usual shyness and saw that despite the matching skin tone and same testicles that I remembered there were fresh stitches around the base of what was definitely a new and bigger penis. The wrist thick throbbing muscle lay in waiting and twitched animatedly in response to my touch impossibly reaching an inch or two above his belly button.

"F-Franken, what?!" I stuttered and brought my head back out shaking my hair free of my eyes, "Did you experiment on yourself again?" I was hardly shocked during the circumstances but never thought he would go to far as too..

That grin widened to show all of his teeth as he lowered his head and nibbled in my earlobe, I shuddered as he spoke innocently despite his dark tone "I've been busy"


	8. Chapter 8

Despite my best efforts my fingers or hand could not encircle him fully but nonetheless I did not feel intimidated by its size and girth as he began to gently knead my breasts impatiently with one skilled hand giving each equal amounts of delicious, searing attention until I could no longer bear it and wriggled out of both my jeans and underwear beneath. His other hand dropped from where it had been cupping my jaw as he kissed me; I relished the enjoyable experience without his glasses which rarely happened and he began to tease between my legs with similar attention until my pale thighs willingly parted.

The angel of death gently rolled atop me gracefully supporting his weight easily on his arms as the muscles bulged taunt with the exertion and I felt the thick pole pressure of him dig into my skin where our crotches touched; I reached down to grip what I could manage with my best efforts in one hand and parted my sensitive lower lips with his head and dragged it up and down experimentally - we both moaned in response. I lifted my legs around his waist and locked my ankles behind his lower back with my arms laced around his neck and kissed him hungrily with unbridled passion, my red hair falling like sheets of blood to frame my face the colour of which my cheeks flushed to match as he without warning pushed a portion of himself inside of me before I could prepare myself.

I let out a foul word that ended in a somewhat contrasting groan of pleasure despite the burning sensation from the friction of him stretching me which throbbed with unpleasant pain as I constricted and flexed my inner muscles to try and adjust to his size; it accidentally drew him deeper inwards as my juices began to allow him to slide further and I repeated what I had spat earlier against the hot skin of his neck as he forced my shaking face into his shoulder.

"Aoihoshi" he fervently murmured in reply but his voice had to yet hold any of the intense pleasure that I already felt, I pressed my lips against his and ground my body so that my breasts rounded taunt and plump up against his chest and he made a noise deep in his throat which had a twinging tingle spark like a match striking in my stomach as my legs shook. His hand moved so only one was supporting him and he pressed me down into the mattress as the other crept spider like down my body, his gaze studying me intently all the while like a collector examining a pinned butterfly.

"Franken" I cupped his cheek gently with my palm trying to gently persuade a little softness to his gaze but the dead, clinical look in his butter hued eyes continued as his hands roughly sculpted up and down my frame strong enough to commit to memory with such firmness I wouldn't be surprised if bruises flourished purple beneath his pressing, massaging fingertips. He sheathed himself almost fully inside of me and I felt such violet pain that I scratched deep livid pink marks down his neck and the side of his waist as my hands curled into claws instinctively in response to the fire in my groin as he began to gently rock his hips without apology as though it spurred him onwards, "D-Don't I'm not ready, you don't fit..."

He stubbornly instead gripped the frame of the bed as it began to creak and loudly knock against the wall with a bang from the efforts of his enthusiastic exertion and the flames increased as my every inch of my body stretched and screamed in response until I had to part my lips to issue them, my arms snaking to wind about his body thirstily as I yearned to touch every part of flesh that I could reach. From elsewhere I suddenly felt the presence of a soul so familiar to me it had not dawned upon me that it had crept up without my notice as I was in a somewhat distracting situation and my attention was most definitely elsewhere, my weapon parter Red was so nearby he must have been leaning against one of the trees growing closest to our home. Stein noticed my diverted attention and brought me sharply back to reality with a ending thrust that drove him to the hilt inside of me with a resounding smack which left me gasping as he suddenly withdrew.

Confused and irritated by being drawn to the end of the abyss into the final stage of white hot pleasure as my body felt the sudden loss of touch I watched as he rummaged in the bed side table, taking out a small first aid kit. He opened the box and unwrapped the protective plastic from around a small cotton swab and dabbed it gingerly between my thighs - it was a strange, unpleasant sensation that made me shiver with revulsion as I looked upwards at him doubtfully with my hair mussed and lips parting as my chest heaved. It came away bloody as he raised his arm and I let out an audible gulp, he said nothing and his eyes remained cold as though he were far away elsewhere in the distance as he strategically rewrapped it and took out a scalpel before closing the box and putting it atop the table instead of back inside the drawer. I felt Red's curiosity stab against my subconsciousness and goosebumps rose to physically my flesh, was it fear, shame or thrill?

"Franken, don't. Please" I begged feebly although as he turned back to lean on his side to gaze at me blindly without really seeing, despite when he leaned towards my body to close the distance between us I felt his soul begin to drift away from mine a little. He answered by dragging the blade very lightly over the skin on the outside of my upper arm, blood welled up and beaded on the wound immediately; I felt that Red had began pleasuring himself and my nipples tightened to buds in response - he took that as mistaken consent despite my words as the bazooka weapons moans echoed through my head and slammed back inside of me.

The two of them competed without knowledge as my hands tried to stop his as adjusted his arm and cut a little deeper on my stomach, though the cut was as precise and clean as always to be expected from him it was more of the blade than he usually used so blood began to immediately drip from it steadily. I thought of how many animal and human lives had been out to death by those hands as the three of us groaned into a theatric crescendo with all the intensity of a opera singer roaring the last note of the peak of the chorus.


	9. Chapter 9

"I-I'm going to go out" I said soon afterwards when normally I would have stayed to savour the warmth of his arms due to the briefness of these moments recently, but I was sore, aching and the pain out balanced the throb of coital pleasure between my legs. I looked over to where he was tipping ash from his cigarette into an empty mug with little attention for more, "I'll be back later with ingredients for dinner. Is there anything in particular that you feel like?"

"I know from previous experience of your cooking that whatever you choose to make I will enjoy" he complimented cryptically in a toneless without looking up from his task once as I revealed my nude body by standing up from the bed. I redressed awkwardly in the silence that continued until I was fully covered and turned towards him in the process of buttoning up my shirt and he noted the oozing cut on my stomach dripping onto the floor with an audible patter, "Make sure the blood doesn't stain" he grabbed one of his textbooks from the bedside table and opened it to read. I remembered a time not so long ago that he would have cleaned and covered up the wound with bandages himself.

"Are you not going to get some rest now?" I was glad at least that he had showered earlier at my request although we were both now in need of another one, the whole experience had seemed more for his own gratification than my own. He looked up at me again for the first time as I turned towards him with my hand gripping the doorknob and replied,

"No rest for the wicked"


	10. Chapter 10

**(A/N) I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Ordinary Insanity for inspiring me to make this into more of a plot than just an excuse for lemon.**

I was none too slow about grabbing my coat and clumsily fumbling to slip my feet into my shoes as I also slung my bag over my shoulder hastily rather than put my arm through it. I heaved a large sigh at the heavy trash bags of "failed experiments" I daren't look inside let alone touch gathered up by the front door that I had asked Stein to take out about three times that week.

I shut the door behind me and didn't breathe until I was down the path and then I released the air contained in my lungs in a long sigh. Red was nowhere within sensory distance for which I was irrevocably glad because I didn't want him gleaning any of the complicated emotions I was feeling right now which would be blared out of my consciousness like a booming siren, I took the same route that we had earlier with a more unhurried leisurely pace to relax my wound as the distance between myself and the house lessened with each step my heart beat thrumming softer.

By the time I passed Uncle Bob's Rumba Coffee and Death Robbins I felt almost relaxed if a little dizzy and my legs no longer felt stiff as I made my way into the convenience store. I picked up some fresh ingredients for a seafood salad as I knew Stein enjoyed dissecting the shellfish before eating them before noticing an advertisement for a choose your own bento box for a minimal fee. Jingling the spare change in my pocket I knew a few coins wouldn't go amiss from our combined salary though it was primarily his due to his refusal of me going on missions as of late, which he insisted that he didn't mind as I repeatedly asked him on his resolution more from desperation he would change his mind than really questioning him.

I used the serving chopsticks picked up some cold slices of beef braised in chilli sauce even though I hated spicy food, then loaded it with curried rice and roughly cut squares of pork fried in a peppery sauce the smell of which had me winkling my nose. My eyes had began to water as for in the desert compartment of the box I used the allocated spoon to scoop up a generous amount of curry flavoured ice cream and dribbled an ungodly amount of hot sauce atop it. For garnish, I added some strategically placed jalapeño peppers in the form of a smiling mouth and eyes that curved upwards to form a happy expression and when I had finished before I knew it I had created a perfect meal for Red.

Telling myself it was only because living off the fifty student weekly allowance alone gave little room for much save covering minor expenses and that it was in the nature of nothing but a good partner to ensure that my weapons strength was kept up as I paid for the food and walked out with the bags in hand distracted me enough that not a minute or so's walk from the store I bumped into he who had been in my thoughts. I tried not to curse my luck and buried it beneath the curiosity of what had occurred for us to bump in together again so soon - though I knew little of what he did in his spare time from what I did I was highly aware he avoided highly social areas at all costs, sticking around them practically unheard of.

"Aoihoshi" he muttered to break my thoughts from where I had been dumbly staring, and I was surprised that he spoke out loud. An elderly woman walking her small fluffy dog of the yappy ankle biting breed who had been staring at his hair colour and scars visibly jumped upon hearing him and hurried in her way. That formidable air he carried in weapon form was often reflected in his only slightly less more threatening human appearance but he only gave me a small smile with one corner of his lip when he noticed that I had also silently remarked upon it.

"Red" I greeted with his name coming out somewhere between a forced happiness and obviously feigned nonreluctance at his appearance despite my heart could have really done with a rest before it began to pound so hard in my chest again within such a short space of time. I knew that he was all to aware of what had happened between me and Stein earlier and that he had been close enough to discern the particular role he had played in it unfolding. I wondered if he was going to mention the cuts.

_**Bad time**_? He asked and I shook my head despite him knowing that it was in the face of my obvious lie - there was never any point telling untruths to somebody who could see inside your own thoughts. We began to walk and our fingers touched briefly and my gaze snapped down towards where he was simply just taking one of the bags of food I was carrying to lighten my load for which I was surprised but thankful.

_What were you doing in town?_ I eventually asked as we passed a few more stores and tried to think carefree, airy thoughts without much true interest behind questioning him, like how I was going to cook dinner, how many times would I have to ask Stein to take that god damn trash out before the flesh began to rot.

_**Do I always have to be doing something**_? I looked up and saw he had tied the plastic bag handle easily to his wrist and had lifted both hands to rest behind his head with the fingers laced so his arm bore the weight of the food.

_I don't know what you do in your free time_, was all I responded before casting a worrying look upwards towards where the dark clouds were forming above the high spires and gathering above the rooftops. I looked back and saw that he was grinning nonchalantly to showcase his fangs,

His gaze looked up to also take note of the weathers rapid change of mood, the sun must be highly offended or miserable if it were going to consider starting the yearly Nevada monsoon a month early. **_You are my free time_**. When I choked on a half disbelieving laughter and found my throat too full of hope and distrust to answer his smile lessened to that it tilted only one corner of his mouth again, I didn't dare strengthen my Soul Perception to find out if he was lying, **_When I'm not with you, I sleep._**

_Now that is something that I can believe_, I replied with a small smile of my own, glad that he had said something to clear a little of the heavy, grey air between us - the relief was short lived as before we had even made it past the courtyard the first light drops of rain began to fell.


	11. Chapter 11

"I can't believe that you never told me that you had your own apartment!" I half-screamed at him as I dropped my bag onto the futon to push him in the hard in the chest when he walked over from shutting his flat door, for all of my efforts I may as well have been attempting to move a stone wall. I shook my head violently to dispel the rain that had drenched my skin sodden for a few vicious minutes before he had oh so matter if factly stated that he rented nearby and we both took off our soaked shoes.

_**Why would that be something that I need to let you know**_? he winched at my mental and physically strident yelling and asked as though he truly was unaware and wanted to know the answer, I flushed when I thought of how I had imagined him camped out in the trees for days at how he always seemed to be near Stein's house when I needed him - and even when I definitely didn't need him around. Before I could even allow a single one of those earlier fresh memories resurface I firmly clamped onto my misdirected emotion of anger.

_You should just tell your partner things,_ I answered sullenly as I protruded my lower lip in a pout and looked about the room, it was sparsely decorated with a single futon and a easy micro cooker with a single hot plate that was plugged into the wall but not being used, with little much else but some boxes and a stack of thin books next to where I assume he placed his head when he slept, _Like that you enjoy reading. _

**_I don't,_** he dropped my shopping bag and hurried over to take them all from where I had been about to pick up the cover of one to read it in a manner that I could have sworn almost displayed he was losing his stoic coolness he held about him at all times.

_So they're picture books_? I retorted with a slight smile which dropped the instant his eyes flashed dangerously at me to shut up and he busied himself hiding them in a box. I noticed there was a cupboard and two doors, and walked across to open one of them - it revealed a small but clean bathroom, solitary soap toothbrush and toothpaste; it all seemed a little lonely. I cleanly wiped away that thought before he could chase it.

_**Could you please stop poking around and sit down**_? I heard him call loudly with an evidently irritated low grumble, when I shut the door and looked back I saw he was leant against one wall and he had taken off his jacket so that the muscles that bulged in his arms simply by him crossing them over his broad chest were visible and hurriedly averted my eyes.

_Why invite me here if you won't allow me to pry_? I teased him lightly as I opened the second door, to my unguarded surprise it led into a room along as side as the one as the one I was stood in, except it was undecorated and completely empty - it looked like nobody had stepped inside it in months, if this year._ How long have you had this place for_?

He shrugged but I got the sense that it wasn't long,_ I don't have much stuff_. He rolled his shoulders again as he caught a wave of my overwhelming incredulity about why the hell he would pay rent on his small budget for two rooms when he didn't even use one. I shut the door on the unappreciated room and dropped my sodden coat next to his by the front door after seeing there was no place to hang it before sitting down on the futon which didn't look like it had been slept on much; he busied himself grabbing a towel from the bathroom to dry his hair although he could have asked me to grab one when I had been in there a second earlier.

He grabbed a dry tshirt from the box and sniffed it to my visible disgusted dismay to check that it was clean before thrusting it over to me, I was about to complain before I saw how the wet article of clothing I was wearing was clinging temptingly to the curves of my frame in a way that could have only been called indecent and instead took it with silent shame as my cheeks burned and he pretended not to notice.

I stuffed the shirt under one arm and rummaged in the shopping bags before I brought out the bento box I had picked for him and presented it to him somewhat awkwardly in both upturned palms like a child showing a parent a discovery. He tossed the towel to one side and grabbed it with one careless hand, _**You made this for me?**_ His tone matched his eyes in that it revealed nothing and I wished that I had the strength to discern his thoughts as easily as he could mine - this intensified and grew shameful as he picked up upon it and gave me a small obligatory smile.

_It's store bought, I didn't cook it myself if that's what you're asking_. I moodily crossed my arms and tried to act as though I wasn't slightly offended by his lack of gratitude - after all I was used to that from Stein recently. The thought of that must have softened something in my eyes and he eagerly snapped off the lid and brought his nose close to the contents to take a deep appreciative smell that would have any normal person coughing up a fit at the spices before snapping the complimentary chopsticks in half,

He ate it quickly with such speed I unsure if it was because he found it delicious, he was starving or didn't want to insult my gesture further by declining it and was so instead chomping it down without hardly breathing so he would not have to suffer it for long. A moment later as he licked the tray and my round eyes grew large as he dropped it spotlessly empty onto the floor were not lost on him, **_Not bad - but you should cook it for me yourself next time_**. His large, sated grin as he sat a small distance away from me on the futon so our knees were two inches or so away from touching confused me so that again I resorted back to my most comfortable primitive form of keeping him from getting too close to me,

_Like there's going to be a next time_ I remarked dryly, I had been hoping that I could have quickly turned my back to get changed whilst he was distracted by eating but he had finished sooner than I had thought possible for a normal digestive system. I let out a light almost inaudible sigh through my gritted teeth I was dismally confident that he would have picked up on anyway and moved so my back was to him, I unbuttoned my shirt and peeled it free from its second like skip grip and tossed it in a wet pile to one side.

**_Picking all that spicy food must have been hell for a wimp like youwho doesn't touch the stuff, _**he spoke quietly and for a moment I almost looked over my shoulder but paused mid motion and first pulled his oversized tshirt over my head and down to where it covered down to my jean clad thighs before answering,

_You couldn't pay me enough to eat that_, my voice was followed by a few minutes of comfortable silence that I greatly missed enjoying with Stein as I sat back down and we listened to the rain patter against the single window of the room. Just as I started to think about heading back to the house despite the weather to start preparing dinner he quickly closed the space between us and gripped my upper arm that hurt despite I knew he was applying only gentle pressure.

I looked down and our eyes both locked upon the fresh cut on my arm, he said nothing and the spell of silence upon us continued as he bent his head and I watched my wound disappear to be blocked by his head as he slowly drew out his tongue and cleaned it, I shivered at the nearness of his scent emanating from his hair. He slowly bent me backwards so that I was laid in what in any other situation would be comfortable and his surprisingly agile fingers deftly rose my shirt enough that the deeper cut was visible, the quakes of my body intensified as his hands moved to clamp solidly either side of my waist; he pressed his flat lips against for a intake of my own feverish breath as though to kiss it before the long whip like velvet tongue emerged to gently rub it clean as soft as a kitten lapping up milk. _Red_...

_**You couldn't pay me enough not to eat this**_, he muttered with a devious smirk as he dragged his lips around the hem of my jeans and moved his hands to try and part my thighs making it all to clear in his intentions. The tiny bead of blue which was my soul in the lava landscape of his burning tidal wave of a red soul quivered as it came to shook itself and as we Resonated I felt the tingle as the tears in my skin were repaired due to my healing Resonance, when his pitch jet eyes met mine I also saw that they were alight with a new vigour. I took advantage of my new lack of injuries to shove him roughly off from atop of me, embarrassed that he must have known about my other more private injury that Stein had documented blood samples from. At least now I would be able to walk home without between my legs aching from the earlier forced submission,

My face went purple when I realised that he would have seen the unbidden thought also as it rose to the surface of my mind and I hurriedly stood upwards, _Would you like your shirt back?_

For someone who had just been rebuffed he struck a casual enough noncommittal pose stretched out on one side with his arm pillowing his head, _**You've only just gotten into it, and your other is still wet - keep it until tomorrow**_.

I pulled on my coat still damp from earlier and slipped on my shoes with an unpleasant squelch before balling up my wet tshirt and stuffing it hurriedly inside the shopping bag which I grabbed; opening the door and wincing as I was met by a curtain of rain which I rose my voice to be heard over before leaving, _what makes you be so sure you'll see me tomorrow_.


	12. Chapter 12

By the time I got the usual preparations for a typical evening in at the Patchwork Laboratory were well underway as Stein sat at his computer filling in observations; things were like they always were. He rolled his chair away from his table and stretched - I admired the muscles rolling beneath his lab coat in an offhand way, before raising his hand in a semi-interested half wave to showcase that I hadn't distracted him much with my entry before the slope of his shoulders settled and he resumed typing. His hair had become smoother than the last time i had left it in tangles as I wove my fingertips through it with fear and passion; I looked to where the pile of bin bags piled high like a bad memory had still yet to be moved and let out an audible sigh.

I knew that he wouldn't want to talk and so kept in my earphones as I gave an responding incline of a small smile for answers benefit despite him being unable to see it before slipping off my wet shoes to make my way down to the bathroom, I took one of the towels from the rail and used it to roughly dry my hair before hanging it back. Back in the small adjacent kitchen not much bigger than the corner that Red used to call his it was nonetheless better stocked with a cooking appliances, cupboards of plates or cutlery and a small fridge that would be empty if I didn't keep it full with easy to make snacks the kind of minute meals which were all I could get Stein to eat on the days that I was out and couldn't cook for him. He got too withdrawn from his research I knew that he often forgot to eat and that this would the first chance that he had all day, I tugged off my coat and draped it over the head of a chair next to the coffee table we rarely used together as he preferred to eat at his work desk more often than not before returning to where I had deposited the plastic store bag upon the counter top.

I took out two plates and layered a generous amount of salad upon each before wrapping it in the protective cellophane and putting it back in the fridge, artfully arranging delicate frilly slices of gleaming pink salmon and blushing unpeeled prawns next to the shiny black-blue mussel shells. Listening to the music beating a staccato against my eardrums as I put the trash in the small kitchen bin and got the clean knives and companioning forks drowned out the noise of Stein as he came up behind me to see what I was eating. I turned my head around and my mouth parted in audible surprise when I noticed he had come up behind me and leant with one hand against the counter so his chest was an inch or so away from my back. I admired his chest beneath the clean black and dark grey stripe stitch patterned shirt that he had changed into and his eyes behind his glasses that he had placed back on the bridge of his nose.

"What are we going to be eating tonight?" I saw his lips form the words and read them easily through always wearing my earphones before he peered over my shoulder to see for himself before I could answer. It was just as well, his earlier choice of words had reminded me of what had almost conspired between me and Red earlier before I had torn myself away from his apartment before the weather became just one other reason to stay. His mouth curved up into a smile as one of his hands took his plate and the other settled on the small of my back, "This looks great" he bent to rest his chin atop my head which flattened beneath the strands and took a deep breath of my hair I felt stir the finer filaments of red again, I span to face him and placed my smiling mouth against his cheek. Whatever dark mood that had threatened to overtake him earlier seemed to have completely disappeared as suddenly as it had flared but the sterile overhead lights of the kitchen cast his skin with an ethereal inner glow than seemed to stem from within.

"Thanks" I happily accepted the compliment with a warm budding flourish of heat blooming under my collarbone like a second sun growing beneath the skin. He kept his hand upon my lower back so he felt my spine stiffen beneath his palm although I strove to keep my face from revealing any shock at his next words,

"You smell of something spicy, you met Red Dwarf again I assume?" I busied myself and bought some time for a moment before taking out my earphones and turning off the iPod in my pocket, grabbing my plate. I had hoped the heavy downpour of rain would have diminished most of the scent of anything but that damp frog and leaf smell associated with days spent inside with hot mugs of cocoa.

"I happened to run into him whilst I was grocery shopping" I replied in what I hoped appeared to be an offhand way, the sort of everyday occurrence not worth mentioning and certainly not that I went to his apartment minutes after hearing of it. It seemed to leave him satisfied enough as he left me to make his way back to his computer desk, the sound of the keys being hit resumed as he shut the screen down and came to sit with me at the table to eat with his plate on his knee. I was surprised but again still happiness bubbled in my chest - I assumed this was his way of trying to make up for his earlier behaviour as he turned on the television and flicked through several science and documentary channels before settling on his favourite movie of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - which he mistakenly viewed as a comedy and laughed throughout the more grisly moments of transformation and clapped when the mad scientist killed himself to overcome his darker side.

"Strange how he always seems to know just when to bump into you" he remarked as he took up a prawn between his fingers and deftly skinned it of its shell before popping it between his lips. It was a question that I often asked myself but knew from my weapons particular method of doing things that he was not one to easily give answers.

I shrugged with feigned nonchalance as I used my knife and fork to do the same as he, taking a few bites and taking the time to chew swallowed before answering, "Well we do have a strong Resonance" I strove to keep my eyes on the television screen despite the figures on screen blurring with the intensity of my gaze as I spoke but it my voice was a little strained as I tried to keep my hands from shaking in case the fork scraped stridently across the plate like nails dragged down a chalkboard.

From my peripherals I watched as he began to crack open each mussel shell methodically and viciously wrench the orange thick rubbery flesh free with the same detachment one reserved for licking envelopes, "What did he and you talk about?" his expression in the flickering shadows of the figures moving on screen was difficult to read,

I cut up a piece of lettuce with a little more vigour than I usually reserved for vegetables and made a point of cleaning the rest of my plate before answering which took a good few minutes - I noticed his hands stilled and he neglected his meal as he waited and the food I was trying to swallow turned into an ashen lump in my throat. I swallowed the last bite of distraction and dabbed my lips dry on the back of my hand, "Nothing in particular, I was busy finding lunch. He might have mentioned target practice" I rose to take my plate to the sink cursing myself from the first step, I usually waited for him to finish his own before taking both of them to wash - it would be obvious from the break in routine I was nervous.

The sound of gentle sawing as he cut through his food was the only noise beside the running of the tap as I turned it on to fill up the sink, I made a fresh pot of coffee and handed it to him when he had finished which he silently accepted and it stretched until I had set the last pan or spoon to dry on the side. I had sat back down on the chair next to his wondering if there was anything else that I could do that would please him when he steepled his fingers beneath his chin and rested them atop it, his handsome profile politely surveying "Target practice, you two don't need that" I had the feeling he wasn't trying to compliment us from the harsh lack of warmth his tone conveyed before he followed on with, "When you are called to your debriefing with Shinigami-Sama I've wrote a letter of temporary resignation for you under my medical authority inclining that you're not safe to work to give to him" he discussed as though talking about the weather and took a sip of his drink surveying me from over the rim of the cup darkly as my insides turned to ice.


	13. Chapter 13

"Stein do you really deem me unfit for work?" I asked as though I thought it aloud because I wondered if he had any need for this profound concern he hadn't told me. The answer was of course obvious if of course he was telling the truth and had already filled out the necessary paperwork with his signature. The pale grey TV light caught his glasses in such a way that the lenses glared white and it was impossible to see his eyes behind them as he took another small sip and rotated the mug in his well formed meister skilled which had ended many lives hands before answering,

"I deem your current weapon partner a bad influence on you" he stated simply enough and rose before I could query anything else to return back to his computer a place where I knew not to disturb him unless necessary. I stood there for a moment wondering what Red would say when I told him or if my nerves turned me to cowardice he heard through being transferred to another meister - if there was one worthy applicable as weapons with his power were in short supply but hard demand and difficult to wield as Stein very well knew.

I wasted a few minutes telephoning the DWMA to ensure that Shinigami-Sama would be free for a meeting tomorrow and after filling up his coffee again I asked if he wanted me to go out and buy anymore cigarettes before the store closed and he declined my offer. I turned off the television after an hour of him not returning to watch it and as I drew the curtains I noticed the churning moon had risen and was softly grinding its teeth.

I noticed as I regarded the back of his sleek shining wolf fur head one of the scratches I had carved with my nails into his skin peeked slightly above the hem of the collar of his shirt and flushed with the thoughts of what had transpired earlier, "I'm going to go and take a shower" I loudly warned him thinking that if I got it out of the way early whilst he seemed occupied the would be less chance of me getting in his way if he wanted one later; despite no answering call I knew that he had heard me as I padded my way across to the hallway.

I felt the need to clean myself rising as I opened the bathroom door and closed it behind me to turn on the shower so that the water that rebounded to ricochet in heavy drops and puddle at the bottom of the tub could heat as I undressed, peeling the clothes from my body by raising my arms upwards and then bending low to shrug out from my jeans. My skin was unmarked despite earlier because of my healing resonance with Red but was still showing signs of dirt. I checked to see there were enough towels available and when I saw that there were I stepped in to relish the hot water as steam rose to fill the room and condense over the single window that lit the room. A few minutes passed in which I combed my fingers through my hair and soaped myself clean and the loud noise of the water blocked the sound of Stein turning off his computer and setting his empty mug to one side next to a haphazardly stacked pile of books as he lurched over towards the bathroom and even the more strident ones as he opened the door and closed it behind him using his other hand to grasp the large screw through his head and turn it a few times in ponder full thought as a light smile grazed his thin lips.

"Franken!" I gasped loudly and my hands rose to shield my nude breasts which still glimmered with small bubbles of soap stuck to them and I curved my body protectively to the side despite he had seen it all before when I saw that he had entered. It was dark outside but the clinical bathroom light felt harsh and revealing. I wondered if he had been so immersed in his work earlier that he actually had not heard me remind him that I was occupying the bathroom but he silently removed his glasses and patiently folded them to put them on the sink before he hung up his coat on the peg attached to back of the door. It wasn't until he peeled off the thick jumper beneath to expose his broad but scarred pale chest with its carved but mistoned skin stitched together did I realise that he intended to join me. He shucked off his trousers and dropped them to his ankles and I averted his eyes as he kicked his microscope patterned boxer shorts free with a bright blush as I remembered the monstrous size of that thing that had impaled me earlier.

When I shyly turned my back to him he pressed his chest into the back of my head insistently until I either had to move or continue feeling that massive rock hard stiffness already thick against my hip and when the latter prevailed he took it as unspoken admission to use one large hand to cup my waist as the other combed wet strands of hair free from my face. I was apprehensive and a little nervous from earlier as he began to place gentle kisses smooth as quicksilver fish skimming in water along my shoulders and as he resumed without relenting I felt myself give in indiscernibly so that my body melted into his; happy to receive the attention like a naive puppy returning to the lap of the mistreatful owner who kicks it.

He let out a low appreciative hum that ended in a throaty chuckle as his hands spanned the slopes and curves of my body as his intent grew as hot as the water before one of them drifted slowly between my legs after giving each buttock an appreciative squeeze as though assessing the quality of a piece of meat and I tiredly closed my eyes for fear of what I might see revealed nakedly for me to discern in his hawk yellow ones. One finger took the time to slide up the soaking wet slit of my womanhood moist from the shower and I felt his grin against the skin of my shoulder as he inserted it and his thumb began gently rubbing the sensitive nub of hidden upper flesh.

His lips were as soft as his movements as he crooned softly his breath ending in sweet half-groans of restraint as he inserted another and his pale blue soul hummed pleasantly up against mine in a manner that it was gradually acclimatising to welcome; we shifted slightly when his adjustment of weight suggested we do so and my palm pressed flush against the pane of the window glass for support and my other up on the wall for support as he opened my legs completely and velvety slid sheathed deep my violet heat inside a little easier than earlier with his patience to pleasure me in opening and the water as natural lubricant.

"Franken-" the voice that came from my lips sounded unknown to my ears as he placed one large warmed hand wet and hot from the shower, lust and temperature of the room on my stomach as my toes curled to receive him as he began to thrust and the other hand rose to cover my mouth - his large fingers smothered my lips but kept my nostrils free. My heartbeat pounded dully in my ears as the world submerged as my eyes and lips opened from shock but my moan was drowned out by his fingers and the resounding wet slaps as he inserted himself inside of me with unrestrained abandon for a few minutes.

Even then I felt no fear and even some distant pleasure as my eyes rolled back in my head and he gripped the back of my hair to lash it like a rope around his wrist to reign my spine taunt so I writhed like a snake beneath him, the tattoo of the water thrumming beating with the sounds of his greedy pleasure a steady spell over us that distanced my pain. When he groaned and I knew he was beginning to lose control a blinding red dot of colour flared up in my wavelengths consciousness like a sniper beam had been pierced on my forehead into my mind as Red came to stand with his hand rested upon the glass where mine was separated by the fog of steam that blinded us. For a moment the what could have been minutes or seconds stretched as my consciousness flew from my body to become attuned to his, in an instant I was aware of him and as I did it was suddenly his lips I felt against my hair.

Red's fingers trembled as he bent to mingle his fiery head with mine "I've not done this for so long" he whispered fervently with a shimmering worship resplendent in his words that overcame the shifting black shadows that were all I could see of his eyes, I was so surprised that he was speaking aloud whilst so suddenly performing such invasive actions, "But I've waited" his voice faltered as though he could continue no longer as gently his hips lovingly eased inside of me to instantly become a perfect fit just large enough to stretch and nudge against my sensitive inside button to make me wriggle pinnacled atop him without discomfort. His fingers and mouth sought out the fine hairs at my temple as Stein gave me a particularly vicious thrust and I was wrenched back to the colder reality.

The water scalded unbearably and I instantly cringed to recoil in sheer agony away from it as pain radiated from my shoulder, the bathtub was pink and red swirled menacingly down the plug hole. Stein had broken apart a razor and had used the blade to dig into the skin where the source of the burn came from and strategically carve out the shape of a heart.

Aki...I spoke as Stein gave a final finishing groan and slumped spent against me.


	14. Chapter 14

I had been stood in the shower long enough that the condensation had steamed to cover the ghost of my handprint that was all that had lingered to remind me of Red's unseen but constant, reassuring presence of the other side of the glass where he rested his own palm upon the cold surface from the outside earlier but the passing minutes had done nothing to shake the cold numb of shame and fear that mingled with the pain in my shoulder. My fingers were white and wrinkled like an embalmed corpse with the amount of time I had been under the water but I didn't notice just as my mind didn't register the slick splatter of semen dribble back out and down my inner thigh. My head felt fuzzy with clouds of cotton wool that made me think of swabs and surgical equipment so that I shivered before turning up the heat to the highest temperature it would go to, relishing the red waves of pain as it almost blistered my skin with its potency. Despite the hands that had so roughly been upon me earlier my skin felt nothing. I stood there imaging the burning as a cleansing wave to scrub the dirt from my body but my feet still twitched from where my toes curled inwards with suppressed agony that was psychological as well as physical before I began to scrub at my upper arms with an attentivity that turned to violence as my nails began to rake red pressure marks almost tearing my skin,

Our close wavelength proximity brought my partner back where he had been and I felt him close by in a distant kind of way as though he were still many miles away, my ears blocked out the noise as he began to bang upon the bathroom window in his urgency to stop me from hurting myself further as the bathroom water ran red with blood not only from the heart shaped wound cut neatly from my shoulder. Maybe it was the protesting noises or his soul had been alerted by the spikes of sharp agony in mine as my pale blue soul roiled angrily from side to side like it was trying to escape a hidden, unseen barred prison but Stein barged in through the bathroom door he had closed by left unlocked when he had wordlessly left me in the shower what must have been over an hour earlier as he got lost in his research again and finally the threat that almost shattered the window relented.

The noise should have snapped me out of it or the embarrassment of being caught in the shower by two men one of which could see me and the other so close me may as well have been able to but my back stayed to my lover - could I still call him that? I had to, even when he turned off the shower. I only began to shake as he wrapped me up in several clean towel with the tenderness one reserved for a child until I was swaddled like a baby bug in leaves and in reaction to it my weapon punched his fist angrily against the wall to vent some of his frustration that I could feel as well and real as he could sense my own like the emotion belonged to myself and wasn't a reflection of his. The grey haired scientist may have felt this with his own exceedingly strong purple wavelength that of course would already know how close Red was before he had started creating such a commotion and so his next words were not only for my ears, "My dear Aoihoshi; what have you done to yourself now?" He pressed the shuddering bundle that was me to his chest as his arms bound me with all the strength of a straight jacket and my dead feet allowed him to take me outside of the bathroom and through to the room we shared a bed in together.

One large pale hand rummaged in the drawer beside where we slept for the first aid kit as the other ponderfully span the cog head above his right ear and my chest froze as he opened it upon the mattress of fear from what happened the last time he opened it, but all he did was douse the wounds with liberal antiseptic as if he was aware that I felt none of this and apply butterfly stitches over my shoulder before covering it with gauze and then bandaging my upper arms. The process took some time but I was silent throughout as he tsked and made other mildly irritated noises, when he had finished and replaced the box sliding the drawer shut before he bent to look at me and I span my head away sharply to avoid his gaze - the first recognition I gave that I knew he was there I thought he would leave but he didn't and instead shut the door. He sat beside me on the bed and I felt the weight of him meet the mattress as it dipped but kept my eyes firmly on a boring patch of distant carpet.

"You're angry with me because I don't think your fit for work" he began and I guessed he had no idea really I was just scared of him, "But look at you" he continued to scold me lightly like playfully admonishing a puppy and slung his arm over me, "But look at you, I only do this because I care for you so much" his other hand rose to touch my face and when I flinched he instead gestured to his collar, "Look" he beckoned and despite myself I did so, "This is how much I love you" he pulled the material down and my mouth opened with shock, repulsed my slim fingers were non the less drawn to the stitched piece of flesh a different tone of the rest of him like the morbidity that makes one take a quick glance at a car accident and as my hand met it I confirmed what I already knew - the skin colour matched my own. He had surgically attached the skin he had sculpted out in a heart from my shoulder in the shower earlier upon his chest onto the space above his own. I gasped as he said with a dark look in his predatory gold eyes, "If you're worried about not getting enough exercise..." He unbuttoned his shirt and I tried to tear my hand away he clutched it as he threw the unwanted article of clothing to the floor.

"N-no" my voice crept out so quietly as I spoke for the first time that I assumed he must not have heard me as he his hands went down to untie his belt and I clamped my eyes shut to hear in the darkness the sound of his trousers dropping as I repeated myself, "P-please" I stammered and the mattress shifted as he stood up but I felt no relief as the commanding aura of his powerful soul forced me to stay in place as his eyes would if I could see them. The front door must have been locked because without closing the bedroom one I felt something hot and heavy against my lips that I instinctively knew from the familiar light scent of flesh and salt what it was, "Franken-!" he took advantage of my mouth opening to talk to shove his hot length fully inside so that I gagged as his smooth tentacles bounced off my chin, when he began to thrust I was incapable of adjusting him aside with my tongue so instead he glided past my tonsils into my lower throat confines. For a few minutes of quiet aside from the muted creaking of the bed as he worked his hips to grind against my cheeks as I choked with my hands gesturing wildly at the air trying to grab onto anything to stop him punctured by his grunts and my noises of suffocation, his hands moved to clamp around my neck and for a moment I thought that I would loose consciousness but when the black spots shifted and I weakly rose my head my finally eyes opened and fluttered to squint - seeing him move to tear off my towel before my body registered it and goosebumps rose with chill and fear,

"This is what couples do" my dazed mind could hardly comprehend the words he spoke as my chest heaved with greedy gasps of delicious air like a fish out of water and he dragged my limp body towards him across the bedsheets on my back as I retained all the strength of a straw filled doll to resist, "And we are a couple" he spoke with no question or inclination to the otherwise in his voice as he entered my wilting legs with the fingers of one hand thumbing my dissolving nipples as the erect mounds smoothed to petals under his touch and the other twisted the scrap of tender skin above the hole into which his groin pushed.

My body betrayed me as it became obvious it was enjoying the attention despite my thoughts forcing me to try and move, my eyes closed so that he would not see I was weakening to his touch despite our resonance had already suggested such and my mouth opened as he coincided a hard rotation of his hips so his public hair grazed with hot friction against me with a tweak of one nipple, "Uhn!" I squealed with traitorous desire.

Normally by this time Red was lurking somewhere nearby to distract me from the waves of pain Stein inflicted upon me but this untainted pure passion was harder to resist without the red spot of his soul which usually constantly on the edge of my consciousness at all times "Aren't we?" The sewn together meister lowered himself so his scarred chest pressed against mine so that I could feel his erratic heart beat as his waist pinned me down further as his every move because acutely apparent inside of me, the large lilac-blue-white soul completely immersed my own as white hot pleasure overcame me,

"Yes!" we shouted in harmony together as our voices and resonance entwined perfectly in one moment before he slumped upon me, spent as his glasses fell with a clatter to the floor.


	15. Chapter 15

For the first time in what felt like a while I slept soundlessly with untroubled dreams in a thoroughly pleasures state that not only temporarily erased the memories of earlier but left me with no sense of foreboding until the next day when my eyes snapped open and the cold light of the new morning left me wondering what side of Stein would greet me today. I cast out my line of consciousness and was surprised when like last night after my partner had taken me from the bathroom that my other weapon parter was either keeping his aura closed off or was a great distance far away. I looked over and was relieved to see that he was asleep and would have tried to sneak out of the bed, but not only was he a light sleeper as had been proven when I had attempted such in the past my legs also cramped with the unusual positions they had been wrenched apart and contorted into yesterday; for that reason I stayed to watch the way the silver strands of his hair fell against his gently shut eyelids as his handsome corpse pale face was gentle in sleep. My hand stilled from where it had been about to rise and tenderly brush them aside as I didn't want to wake him, but as my head finally cleared from the clouds of sleep my soul stirred to heal the cuts on my arms with a tingle of knitting skin and begin to cover up the raw scar on my upper back...knowing that his wavelength will have alerted him to snap out of dreamland when it was alerted by mine and thinking of the wound on my shoulder I began to move the covers over his chest to look at the patch of my skin he had sewn onto himself but his eyes clicked opened and his hand caught my own before I could,

"Good morning" I forced out with a smile as I went to snuggle into him but he used his grip on me to push me away with the coolness his eyes shadowed, I felt him give me the cold shoulder as he put on his glasses and swept away the duvet to stand and give his usual leisurely morning stretch as he instantaneously clicked his screw a few times.

"That remains to be seen" he finally replied in an even voice that betrayed nothing as he walked out to shower, I jumped out of the bed like it was a nest of snakes from the sheets that still smelt of us when he had left the room and I heard the door to the bathroom close; beginning to unwind the bandages from my upper arms now that I no longer needed them and balled them up in my fists when healthy new slightly pink skin was revealed. I slipped them into one of Stein's old lapcoats he no longer used because there was a faded blood stain on the breast pocket that wouldn't come out no matter how much I washed it that I now used as a dressing gown of sorts and made my way to the kitchen, putting the dirty bandages in the bin.

I turned on the light because it was still so early that the sun did not yet benefit the room from where it streamed in from the curtain that he had forgotten to draw before going to bed last night and noticed that the kitchen had been freshly cleaned and the trash removed, the supplies gesture touched me and warmed inside my chest as with that smile provoking thought I began to put together the ingredients for a more special breakfast than usual for him. By the time he was dressed in clean clothes the computer monitor whirred from where I had touched the on button to bring it to life so that it could warm up beside the cooling cup of coffee and fresh cigarette I had laid beside it and was in the kitchen humming happily when he slouched in taking in the delicious meal set before him on the dining table behind his glasses with an unreadable expression,

I turned around and set down the last steaming bowl of miso soup next to its accompanying steamed rice and fried fish, my smile turning into a grin that he didn't return when I noticed him, "Your favourites tamagoyaki omelette and tsukemono pickles with natto" I spread out my arm like a hostess or chef and floundered visibly in confidence when I received no compliments for my efforts as he cocked his head to one side, "Maybe you'd like nori with them" I went to grab the dried seaweed from the cupboard but my peripherals registered him finally shake his head,

"Just make me some sandwiches for my to eat on my work break please" he asked in a tone that no other answer of mine could comply otherwise as his glass lenses refracted the light to hide his eyes.

I kept my hands busy making them so he wouldn't see them quivering with the shivers of fear as the ghosts of my arms screeched and my shoulder throbbed unpleasantly, I finished the tomatoes and tried to focus on slicing the ham, "W-Won't you try just a little before you go? I'd h-hate for you to go on an empty stomach-oh!" my stammering ceased as my nervous tremors caused the knife I held to cut the bread, lettuce and cheese layered beneath it to slip and instead catch my finger, it was sharp so blood oozed instantly despite it had only barely grazed.

He instantly moved over to me as though drawn by a magnet and his soul flared up to croon warmly like an inviting kitten against mine as his arms moved around me, he gently span me around and one hand rose to lift his glasses up to push back the grey strands of his fringe, I saw his yellow eyes expect the cut assessingly before he stuck it in his mouth and gently sucked on it. My orbs widened as his never left mine until he finished and covered it with a band aid from another first aid kit conveniently stored under the sink, there was also one in the bathroom; it had never stuck me how odd that was before until now, like when in his company one naturally prepared for an expected injury, "I'll finish this" his voice was surprisingly gentle as he held the injured finger up against his chest before his other arm moved me by the hip pushing me away from the food.

"But it's almost already done-" I tried to argue at his evidently deaf tall wall of his back before sighing and with a shake of my head starting to cover the wasted food and put it to keep in the fridge in case he wanted it later - though it wouldn't be as nice of course by then. I felt a little irked at the wasted effort but strove to keep it from my mind as I closed the fridge door and noticed Red's shirt lay like an undiffused bomb on its innocuous position hung up next to my coat from where I had immediately taken it off as soon as I got in, despite having only borrowed it because mine was indecently soaked transparent with rain I didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. Alright, one particular person who was now glaring at me as he had finished putting his sandwiches in his stitch patterned grey briefcase, "I thought I should return the shirt he gave me when it rained yesterday" I explained in a neutral voice despite my heart thudding.

"I noticed, Despite how very chivalrous of him that is really you needn't bestow him the same kindness" he then surprised me by waving his hand dismissively, "Fine" the surprise and hope I felt rise like champagne bubbles in my chest quelled as he continued, "You of course have your allotted meeting with Shinigami-Sama anyway, so we can walk together. Maybe you'll see him in the hallway"

Well, at least that was kind of a yes and I had a solid excuse to get out of the house. I only just recalled that I had even telephoned to make the appointment yesterday, now telling myself that only the situation in the shower yesterday could have made me I could forget and nothing else was wrong with me. Maybe it was all the blood loss over the last few days or my nerves constantly being torn up both on account of Stein's passion but I felt psychologically tired in a way that only Red being nearby to me could ease which made me quickly shower, dress in a red dress that clashed with my hair and black sandals quick with wanting to see him. I grabbed his shirt and my own bag before leaving,

I paused as he opened the door for me as he always did when we went out together and glanced at the empty spot, "Did you take out the trash?" I asked because earlier I had noticed the disgusting binbag of old flesh I refused to touch had gone. He turned around mildly confused and I knew it was the truth from his expression when he declined and joked that I must be cleaning even in my sleep; I would tell through his resonance if he was lying I thought - but little did I know just how much he was keeping from me.


	16. Chapter 16

We walked in silence aside from the dim noise of my music a little distance apart through the streets and when people first came into sight as we reached the more populated areas of Death City he held my hand, it felt odd for reasons I couldn't discern. My music was loud enough to blot out every voice but my concentration was sharply honed to the point where my soul would feel a kishin drop a pin from miles away as a few songs later we had walked up the DWMA's towering steps and at the top I paused for a moment to wipe my brow - strange, it never usually wore me out as I playfully jogged up teasing Stein at how slow he was in comparison. I walked him inside to his outside the door of classroom and dropped his hand as a few students noticed and began to whisper behind their hands, despite our relationship was old news we rarely displayed public gestures of affection; the other teens wore expressions of awe at the meister lucky enough to work with Red although sometimes I felt it was a burden. He bent a little and I obediently went up on the tips of my toes to press a kiss against the grey grate of stubble he hasn't shaved from his cheeks despite showering earlier before he shuffled inside and shut the door to the next available swivel chair - I heard his voice call out, "I am less than pleased at your test scores" by way of greeting and his statement was followed by more agonised moans as he continued on to say, "So we will have another quiz today"

I began to pace away from the door but only got as far as the lockers before I turned to the side and pressed my back up against the lockers to avoid the ash pigtailed blur in a chequered skirt and black trenchcoat that sped past me almost knocking me to my feet, her albino weapon dropped her hand to quickly apologise to me as he jogged on the spot before following her - they were clearly both late for class. As I made my way down to the lower levels of the DMWA building which were darker and cooler from the rough grey stone the walls were made from and lit only by torches ensconced mounted upon the wall in Shinigami skull decorated brackets I felt like I was being watched by a familiar, haunting presence every step as Red stuck close by enough that he could see me without I being able to physically discern which student or corner he knelt behind but him hiding with our resonance was like the sun trying to hide behind an ant; the fact he was keeping out of my way on purpose and not speaking to me made me sad in a way he must have sensed the bitter echoes of because a moment later he pushed his way group of chatting nerds that he hid beneath and walked over to me with undisguised resentment in his usually still black eyes.

Even though I knew we were about to have a very awkward discussion as he wordlessly grabbed me by the arm and dragged me without restraint easily with his strength against my own I was still happy to see him regardless of how unhappy he was in contrast that I was here. It echoed distantly against the seemingly impenetrable wall he kept up so that my wavelength couldn't connect with his but a few tendrils crept through so that all the things we didn't say in the busy corridor as he took into an empty classroom leapt through the air alive between us as his resonance allowed mine in and my skin tingled when I felt my wounds heal over fully. He agitatedly walked with heavy distracted steps over to the window and although I had been about to sit down upon the desk I instead chose to join him and balanced my chin on my elbows as we leant against the sill and he pillowed his scarlet head sideways on his arms, his side profile was perfect but his succulent lip showed signs of being bitten with nerves, I smiled as I never got to see him openly like this. Still I didn't feel the sense of ease like returning to bed after a long day of work or the first bite of your favourite meal that I usually did by his proximity.

_I'm surprised that you're not asleep_...I tried to joke indicating to yesterday when he had told me when he wasn't spending time with me he was asleep in an attempt to cheer him up with a smile, my joy was not feigned as my body naturally gave me a boost of endorphins our resonance gave me as I healed. When he didn't respond I scooted a little closer to him and locked arms with his in a friendly way..._Some rain yesterday_.

He fluidly moved away with a coldness I was used to expecting from Stein, not him as he finally spoke and all he said was,**_ It always rains when you cry, stupid_**. I noticed despite his nonchalant tone his hands were shaking lightly as he took out a cigarette and lit it before putting the packet back in his pocket then the lighter afterwards, he took a long drag and didn't talk further until after a few clouds from the air I reached up with one hand to steal it from between his lips, _**You're seriously going to do this**_.

I took his shirt from where I had carefully folded it tenderly inside my backpack and his onyx eyes hungrily devoured how I clutched it to me to openly savour the scent once more as he felt my soul relish it - so there was no sense hiding the motion or act, I tried to make sure my tone was concrete firm and he wouldn't find any emotional cracks before I answered..._I have to_,

My inner voice was incomparable to the steel of his as his eyes hardened, _**You don't, ditch with me**_. Like we were back at the DWMA as students and he was trying to bribe me into skipping class - which he always managed to do, but it made me worriedly aware that I had better get to my appointment before I was late to meet Shinigami-Sama which was never a good idea unless you wanted a painful Shinigami-Chop straight to the head. He didn't move to take his shirt so I laid it on the floor and gingerly set the cigarette on the window sill so he could take it when he wanted to and with a resigned sigh began to walk out of the room, "Don't do this" he spoke aloud as he rarely did and I knew he didn't just mean to leave from the raw edge of his torn voice that wasn't just from disuse.


	17. Chapter 17

I was sure that Shinigami-Sama would sense my agitated soul for miles away as I hurriedly pushed astonished students rudely aside a yard or so with my wavelength so they wouldn't impede my rushed running, this was confirmed as I barged quickly through the female bathroom mirror and fell through into the Death Room upon the podium flat on my face with the momentum. The reaper impassively regarded my ridiculous entrance as I just as speedily rightened myself and brushed myself down with all of the energy of a tornado before speaking with a bow that finally stopped my movements, "I apologise that I'm late Shinigami-Sama"

The tall shadowy tower of the tip of his head twitched animatedly from side to side as he flapped a large white cartoon hand of his comically and shook his head, "Not at all Aoihoshi, your visit is most welcome after the long time since the last. Would you like some tea?" He gestured to the elaborate Japanese set of cups and kettle on a decorative tray in front of him, he was alone without Spirit with him which was somewhat of a relief as this would be difficult enough without the red haired scythes advances. I declined my flaming head with a shake of my red curls and he stared at me for such a long moment that I had to look away from those black round eyeholes of his that discerned everything, "Are you perhaps unwell?"

I stuttered as the letter burned like a searing brand inside my bag with far much more weight to it than a normal piece of paper had, "No. Well, yes" he still silently regarded my appearance like he could see the scars on my soul the healing resonance could not fully erase, "I'm here to withdraw as I am not fit for duty" I twitched with hesitation and my hand visibly trembled as passed him the paper heavy with finality.

He took it without reading it and stuffed it inside a patch of darkness near his knee I guessed was his pocket, "Did nurse Nygus issue this?"

"No, Stein did" I blushed as I answered though of course he was aware of our relationship as the want to leave as soon as possible intensified when I felt my soul helplessly become inspected by his like a bulldozer flattening over me which I was without any strength to defend myself against, "I should get back" he looked curious but not annoyed but then whatever he was about to reply stopped as a black dressed figure stepped through the mirror with more grace than I did and showed itself to be tall and slim as it walked forwards to reveal itself,

"Oh" a silken dark glove rose to her mouth "I'm so sorry for interrupting" her expression seemed genuinely shocked as despite that she walked in further rather than leaving, Marie - Stein's old weapon; I sent her a smile as I had seen her many times before but she did not return it.

Any odd feeling I felt niggling my mind at that was relieved as Shinigami-sama cheerfully spoke dismissively wagging his hand and head again, "It is not of issue as Aoihoshi was just leaving" he darted a look at me that was loaded with unsaid things as I stood up to do as he had said, "But come again soon we will miss you" I nodded and sent him a smile that promised nothing before leaving.

A few minutes later the hammer weapons hips in the long black skirt she wore swayed as she angrily strode out of the bathroom from where she had fallen accidentally into the Death Room as she had been listening in with her ear to the mirror with her arms furiously crossed over her chest and frown in her visible eye as a gold decorated patch hid the other when she stalked venomously away.


	18. Chapter 18

I was just walking out from the cool marble reception hall rummaging in my bag for a cigarette that I desperately craved when my fingers closed with surprise upon one of Stein's notebooks he used to keep register in class and drew it out with a look of dawning shock before I clasped it to my chest and ran back inside, despite that I really wanted some time alone from him and Red both in every sense of the word I knew he would need it and be angry if I didn't return it after finding on me. My rapid footsteps and all the students tucked inside learning not out in the hallway quickly took me to back outside of the classroom door where I had walked him to earlier that morning and took a moment to allow my thudding heart and flushed cheeks from exertion before knocking on the door, fussing with my hair on the few seconds before it opened and I met Stein's curious face that dissolved into a grateful smile when he saw it was me. Strange, it wouldn't had usually tired me so much just from running that short distance - I must just be nervous about seeing him.

As he bent to peer down but not touch me mindful of the watchful eyes of the EAT class he was teaching I started to push it into his waiting hands but he urged it back into mine, "Just in time, wait here" I stuffed it back in my bag and quickly replaced my shocked expression with a more placated one when he slouched off and I realised the students were all looking at me which kept me from taking a step inwards as he greeted me to them taking a seat back on his rolling chair, "You've all met my partner Aoihoshi who like myself and sadly not many of you is a talented meister" I still flushed at the unintentional compliment although it was spoken to rouse the dispirited students, but my cheeks paled again as he continued, "She will be participating in our outside exhibition today" there was a irritated loud groan that as least covered my own annoyed sigh, "No back chat, outside court yard. Ten minutes"

I waited until they had gathered up their books and began to sidle out of the classroom in varied states of urgency which suggested a few would try and sneak away to bunk off or grab lunch before taking his notebook back out and sliding it across the surface of the desk where he sat signing some forms on the other side, "I came here to bring you this" I suddenly wondered if he had planted it on my bag on purpose so that I would have to return to see him at some point so I would have no choice but to participate in his little experiment, I wasn't too worried about what it would entail as it was during school hours more so just annoyed as the prospect of having some me time alone vanished.

"Thank you" he took off his glasses before sliding it in with his others atop his clipboard in a teetering pile and I saw that he looked tired, despite how annoyed I was my tentative soul naively reached out like a child always will towards its creator; surprised when I was allowed to cradle his without any force, "I appreciate it"

He kicked out his feet and began to roll out of the room with the books precariously balanced in his lap when I ran over and grabbed the back of his chair, "Please, let me help you with some of those" before he could protest I grabbed the good portion that my slim arms could wondering how he possibly managed to carry all of these around usually; I immediately regretted it as my heart began to thud painfully and I almost teetered,

He must have caught my pondering expression but evidently not my slip up as he accepted me lightening his load with a grateful smile before replacing his glasses as I walked and he rolled slowly through the mercifully still empty corridors, "I've been doing some new research recently" he balanced his books against his chest as he freed one hand to rotate the screw through his head and I adjusted my armful of his books against my chest nervously as I wondered what that could mean but stayed silent so the conversation died between us as we made our way outside as I strove to dizzily keep my feet in a straight line. I was relieved to drop them atop his when the sunshine hit my face and we joined the rest of the class who instinctively lined up next to their partners in a half circle to face us as he began to speak, "Patty, Liz. If you could join us please?"

"Huh?" a pretty, young tall girl with long flowing blonde hair beneath a pink cowboy hat that stayed poker straight down to her well formed hips looked up from where she had been texting, I wondered which was she was as she walked over and a smaller short but also sandy haired girl despite being different in height and body type wore the same glittery hat and face as her which had a wide smile as she bounced behind.

"Aside from Death the Kid" I knew the son of Shinigami-Sama from his soul alone regardless of his distinctive black and white striped hair and impeccable suit, "And Kirikou Rung" I wasn't sure who he was but then a tall athletic dark skinned boy with dreadlocks leaned lightly out of the line of students so I guessed it was him, "None of the meisters in this class are able to fight with two weapons, so watch this closely when they resonate"

I shrugged my shoulders lightly, it was easy enough for me to do and I guess it made sense now that I had connected the two of them as the twin demon pistol sisters the young reaper used. I lifted out my arms with a somewhat cocky nod and there as a blaze of white light as the two girls light pink souls were sucked in like water through a straw into my resonance so that in a second I instantly knew everything about them and when it flashed before disappearing a moment later a few students gave an appreciative whistle amongst the reluctant but admiring claps. My hands were covered from where my thumbs gingerly tensed over the hidden triggers of the shining barrel the silver of which gleamed dangerously like cursed treasure under the sun into elaborately carved roses and skulls around the muzzle, I waited a minute or two to see if he would ask me to aim or shoot something and when he didn't they returned to their human forms as I released them looking a little shaken.

"Can I go get a glass of water now?" the elder one asked after throwing me what was definitely a distrustful or somehow strange look, her sister looked less cheerful than earlier as she slowly nodded and walked quickly with none of her former bounce after her. I wondered what was wrong with them - time of the month? That reminded me that I was almost a week late now...My mind churned unpleasant but became distracted as the father of my fears resumed,

"I never excused them, but.." Stein sighed and waved his hand dismissively, "Maybe we can try later next week if I can call Azusa Yumi and get her away from her desk" he spoke mainly to himself as he planned before speaking in a louder voice, "The rest of you, back inside - send the time reading pages eight to twenty as there will be a quiz"

He said something else in a lower tone directed at me as he turned his head to the side but the dismayed groans of the students as they trudged slowly inwards with dragged feet and lowered shoulders hid it, "Sorry, what did you say?" I asked.

He smiled as he began to roll inside, "I said take those books back with you so that I can study them when I get home later, thank you" I watched his retreating back trying not to curse it too loudly so he wouldn't hear as I tried to resist kicking the pile over.


	19. Chapter 19

My arms were absolutely aching by the time I had only just managed to half drag myself and partly fall from exhaustion down the towering DMWA to gather the books back up from where some had dropped and wearily resume walking, so by the time I passed the drug store, Chupa Cabra's and Death Records I excused myself to step into Deathbucks for a coffee and some bags for the evidently arm overwhelming amount of literature. I pushed them all onto the top surface cursing loudly so that a few of the customers sat at the other tables when they sloped over to pile and a few slapped down to the floor just as I had been about to root in my bag for my purse; the person serving took note to be extra nice and put lots of sugar in whatever drink I asked for as I reached under to get them, picked one up and yelled as I banged my head on the table trying to rise back up. Admonishing myself because I couldn't even manage to get a fucking coffee without something stupid happening to me on this crappy day it was ironic at how it could still take a turn for the worst as when I got to my feet rubbing my head frowning I noticed Red stood in front of me,

**_Can't leave you alone for long_**...he commented dryly as his night dark eyes sent me a withering look but he nonetheless retrieved the books for me and stacked them in an even pile in an effortlessly fluid motion - shit they were even alphabetical by author. My shame deepened as I tried not to curse the gods for what they had bestowed upon me in fear they would bring me further calamity before the evenings end as I tried to redeem myself a little,

_Not when you're stalking me_...I moodily slammed myself into my seat and rested my head on the table with such a loud bang a few people looked other again and the books wobbled dangerously, the flaming haired weapon sent them an open scowl over his broad shoulder so that their heads snapped back to drinking when he took the vacant chair next to me. The cozy interior of the warm room with it's usually so enticing smell of ground coffee beans and fresh cream was now actually making me feel a little sick and the laughing customers with their happy lives were stark in contrast to the dark cloud that dimmed our table as one passed over the laughing sun above. I hadn't expected to see him again so soon and the bad way our last conversation ended was as thick and unpleasant as spoiled milk in the air between us as though it was our partnership that was way past its expiration date.

**_Takes one to know one. Is that Stein's stupid theory or yours_**? he rose a red eyebrow before indicating his pale chin across to where he had been sitting, there was a newspaper with a half completed puzzle and an empty cup of coffee in a snug corner predictably furthest away from the windows, _**What do you want?**_

My head jolted up with shock before I realised he was just asking me what drink I wanted, _Nothing, the way my day has been going I'd probably get poisoned_...I tried for a weak laugh and his frown deepened as he crossed his arms over his chest, _This isn't the sort of place I would think to catch you in_...I tried to have a normal enough conversation with him but the words sounded strained and false even to my own ears so his surely would pick up on it; his soul tingled with its proximity to mine like the way an animals back bristles when threatened but he did not resonate with me. He had unzipped the long, intimidating black trench coat that he always wore to show black navy blue and orange t-shirt that matched his shoes and stretched taunt against his chest in a way I noticed most clothes did.

_**And why are you here if you don't want something to drink**_? he shot back and slammed against the back of his chair to slump in an irritated way like he was offended that I was taunting him. That reminded me about the pile of books I would have to continue carrying home a few bags of each in either hand weighing down each arm - was each one of them an in depth encyclopaedia? I couldn't tell from the intelligible titles of long scientific words, **_Doing a little light reading_**? he viewed the amount of them with lazy onyx eyes as he spoke sarcastically.

_To get some bags to carry them in home as a favour for Franken, actually_! I realised I was getting slowly accustomed to more affectionally saying his first name rather than surname and evidently Red had too because the jet orbs showed little mirth as he picked them up entirely too easily and stuffed them with no care into the big black backpack he had slung by one strap on his shoulder, although I knew protesting was useless a niggling part of me knew I also kept silent because I was glad for the help and that he had offered.

_**No need, I'll escort you back**_... he answered in a mental tone that booked no argument, I was just glad that we were still speaking.


	20. Chapter 20

_**So this is where the creepy freak spends his time researching**_...Red sardonically commented as his eyes revealed nothing like curtains drew tightly behind them through which no light escaped from where they followed his hand spanning over the bookshelf and above the keyboard next to the computer without touching them like they emitted an unseen poison, I frowned with tightly drawn brows over my shoulder over at him from where I had been preparing food for him and wondering how an awkward thank you and stilted goodbye at the door had become me making him dinner like he had made me promise I do one day when his stomach had rumbled loudly before he could leave,_** And this is where he writes down the murders that he passes off as experiments**_...his hand drifted like a pianist over the keys again like a sophisticated hacker considering breaking it open but stilled before drawing away leaving it untouched, despite not looking around much I could tell that he was curious,

_Stop that_! I scolded him and he came up behind me in the kitchen keeping a fair amount of distance still between us whereas usually he would have wrapped his arms encircling lightly around my upper waist, this icy gaze on my back instead was significantly less comforting than his chest pressing gently enough against mine that over time my temperature rose to match the fever like burn that his always did. This was a new development in the time we had spent together still without resonating which made his thoughts unreadable and conversation difficult to make as he helped me by carrying all of the heavy books home but maintained as much silent space between us as he could,

**_Where's his spooky laboratory_**? he had neglected the seat I offered him and paced around the room like a wild animal confined indoors against its will wary of his surroundings, it almost made me laugh and for a moment my barriers dropped as I inclined my head towards the dark brown wooden door set into the living room wall next to the book shelf. He looked so out of place in the room with his bright hair like an exotic flower blooming on a dirty street corner - I wondered if with our similar crimson hue I appeared the same outcast inside the grey walls.

_Over there_..as I leant over the table to set down a bowl of shaved ice and habenero peppers I wished fervently that I hadn't mentioned anything as his dark eyes lit up with wicked intent and one corner of his mouth tilted upwards in a devious smile I knew wouldn't lead to anything good.

_**Really**_.. his eyes flickered down to the spicy yet frozen treat lay in wait for him but made no move to take it, _**Let's take a peek inside**_? for all his imposing appearance and power sometimes he could be like a naughty teenager trying to coax a friend into doing something their parents would not approve of.

The thought of him doing that at our age made me laugh and for a moment his lips parted as he froze thinking that I was actually considering the idea, _No_. I shook my head and when I stubbornly turned and began to fry a beef patty over an open flame I heard the scrape of the chair as he finally succumbed to sitting and my lips secretly curved into a smile when I heard his muted groan after taking a bite, _It's locked anyway_! I added just in case he thought to sneak off and try - definitely his kind of thing.

_**Of course it is**_..he said in the sort of tone that definitely implied something after a pause in which he had probably already finished, he had an appetite as large as his power. I hoped that he would compliment it but he said nothing - I guessed he wasn't impressed by a dish that had so little effort.

I waited a few minutes until the meat was sizzling and flipped it over with my spatula onto its other side so that they would both be cooked nicely before answering curtly, _If you're going to say something spit it out_.

_**A man who locks doors has something to hide is all I'm saying. Aren't you curious**_? I turned off the stove slathered the cooked burger patty with chilli powder, chilli paste and habanero sauce - I heard his nose appreciatively sniff loudly to pick up the flavours that made my eyes water and let out a happy sigh at what was to come but the way he was acting made me want to leave him hungry.

_No. Curiosity killed the cat_...was all I replied shortly so I wouldn't antagonize him as I placed the chopped up salad drizzled in hot sauce on the bun and layered on habenero and jalapeño peppers.

I heard a dark chuckle as my crimson haired diner enjoyed a private joke from behind me as I finished putting the burger together and put it on a cold plate I had not warmed previously, **_Stein probably did_**. I cleaned my hands and put everything away stubbornly in mute vengeance knowing he liked his food as hot in temperature as possible before slamming the plate down in front of his wickedly grinning face with more force than I usually would have. Whatever else he was about to say was smothered as he began stuffing it into his jagged mouth with both hands and enjoyed it thoroughly with open mouth chewing so I could see the flash of his fangs between each bite, he became thoroughly distracted for a couple of minutes before he had finished, **_What was that_**? he asked after he had extended the whip of his long lizard like tongue to literally lick the plate clean. I wondered if he ate that fast to help with the taste, because he was famished or as I hoped enjoyed it.

_A Sudden Death Hamburger, have you never tried one before_? I was surprised, it was a well known enough recipe and I figured as somebody who loved spicy food so much he ought to have already eaten a few in his time, my mind wandered to his sparsely decorated lonely small apartment and wondered about his background or family situation. In the times we had resonated he easily overpowered me and gleaned all there was to know about me as crushed beneath the weight of his influence I learnt little about him.

**_No. What's the sauce_**? I took the plate from him to wash it in the sink despite it was spotless and he licked his fingers clean,

_It's habanero sauce, 160 times spicier than Tabasco sauce_.. I turned when I had finished and my hand rose to cover my mouth as I giggled when I noticed he had a bright spot of sauce on the white skin of his nose - how had he managed to get that there? I walked over and bent to lean over his shoulder and wipe it off him, he jumped an inch with suprise at my proximity which was very uncharacteristic of him but I put it down to our lack of resonance echoing the others motions before we even made them,

Was it the spice I had used or were his cheeks a shade more flushed under the fathomless dark eyes that pointedly glared away from me as he crossed his arms over his chest, **_Tasted better than the strongest soul I've ever eaten_**...he finally admitted as his hand caught mine when it tried to withdraw after I gently wiped the sauce of his nose and his lips sealed around the tip of my finger to lick it off.


	21. Chapter 21

**(A/N: Dedicated again to Ordinary Insanity. Your committed reviews give great inspiration).**

I yanked my hand away as though afraid of his sharp fangs for the first time in my life but it was the way even the most simple of his actions made my heart thrum like a hummingbirds wings that terrified me and his mouth set into a firm line as the scar bleached white with the pressure as he pressed his lips tightly together as if angry though his coal pitch eyes remained calm.

_Don't do things like that so suddenly_! His upper lip curled into a sneer to show three of his jagged incisors at how despite my age I was so naive when it came to hiding my emotions and tilted one slim red eyebrow rose in a way I always found infuriating no matter what situation we were in.

**_Well thanks for making it me, anyway_**...He shrugged and his hands rose to his collar to begin unbuttoning one; my eyes widened before I clamped my eyes over them so in the darkness behind them I heard his menacing chuckle, **_Let me thank you_**. His mental tenor was so loud as despite our resonance my soul strained against its bonds to be with his that he could have been speaking aloud directly into my ear.

I thought of how after every mission when I was bathing in the stream or warming my toes by the fire before sleep he would gently pass his hands an inch above my body to erase any wounds I had; fingers that gently touched my thumb to heal a paper cut I got from carrying stacks of Stein's notes, hands and tears that with my healing resonance and his boosting strength had the phoenix like qualities of healing the incisions my lover caused upon me in his Madness. I sometimes felt so useless compared to him, with such great power he hardly ever sustained any injuries so it was always me licking my cuts at the end of a fight and yet he stubbornly insisted on not having another meister or replacement; in his words - **_Only Aoihoshi will do._**

That tiny apartment with no mementoes of a past he never spoke of as though he had never had one talking about before I came along covered in a thick dust of misuse as if it was used sparingly and the owner packed light so he could be ready to move at the soonest moment.

I took a step backwards stumbling and my back pressed against the sink as I remembered in the cruelest moments of Stein's torture how Red's hands and voice had trembled to betray his feelings as the strands of our bright hair melted together when he pressed his forehead to mine, whilst being brutalised I was whisked away to a remote psychological plane where even the black shadows of his eyes had shifted like living smoke with a smouldering passion that named itself as he worshipped my body and told me of how long he had waited to do this with me.

My eyes opened again as he had seen my moment of indecision and like a hunter leapt upon it to stalk quickly across the room and lightly touch my waist with one hand; half a second passed before I slithered out of his reach and checked the clock to see that there were five minutes or so until Stein's classes were finished; it took him twenty to finish his paperwork and ease out of his rolling chair to walk home but the longer Red stayed here the stronger the residue of him would remain lingering for the grey haired meister to sense upon his return. My chest tightened as I kept staring at the face of the clock until the numbers and hands blurred as I wished for more time so that he could stay, I was getting a strange tight feeling in my chest and snakes coiled unpleasantly in my stomach at the thought that this would be the last time I could see him in a while.

**_Aoihoshi, you're crying_**...I blinked and quickly buried my eyes in the heels of my hands to quell the drops that had patterned own my cheeks without my notice. He looked up from where his palms had turned like a child asking for a present to catch my stray teardrops from where they fell from my chin to absorb them into his skin like he cherished every part of me, **_It's raining_**.

My head quickly snapped up towards the window to see that it indeed was as I began to sense the shambling, slow gait of a large purple soul with barbed wire running around and throughout its body and a screw jutting from its head - impossible to miss, if I was just sensing it now Red had to have done so sooner; a felt a little annoyed that he had been trying to set up a situation which Stein could walk into and easily get the wrong idea - which was something I was trying very desperately to avoid for my own sake. Despite the gift of healing the pain and memories of the wounds themselves were noticeably more difficult to get rid of; my expression hardened and my hands rose to his chest to push him away a good few inches before crossing my arms over my chest as I turned to face the sink so that my back was to him and he couldn't see my continuing tears -it was clear this conversation was over although part of me didn't want it to be.

**_We've never argued like this before, how temporary is this resignation from missions_**? I was never more glad to not be able to see his face as his tone nakedly displayed the sorrow he felt that had we been resonating would have easily overwhelmed me with its potency but a nervous tugging in my chest told me Stein was almost onto the grass lined road that led down to his apartment. He grabbed my hands and kept them there against his chest so I could feel his fluttering heart with his finger crushing strength when I tried to struggle and resist, **_At my flat you said, 'What makes you so sure I'll see you tomorrow?' What did that mean? _**He allowed me to push him towards the front door through the living room but then fought back when I tried to get him through the front door, if he didn't leave now Stein would see him doing so, **_How can I keep you safe from him if he practically has a restraining order on me against you?_**

_I'm sorry_, I gave him an extra shove and as he finally accepted making it onto the front door step his hand gently grazed my stomach against the material of my shirt - we at long last resonated and his eyes opened with visible horror as I finally in all our years working together saw a truly discernible emotion that I regrettably could not place for all it's transparency. My fingers rose to touch his as the air shimmered like a heat wave despite the droplets of rain and he disappeared before I could ask him what was wrong,

I stood there staring at the space where he had vanished for so long that when he came ambling soaked down the path a minute or so later a thoroughly sodden Stein thought that I had been waiting for him to come home by the front door despite he was home ten minutes early.


	22. Chapter 22

I was so distracted by thinking of Red's tortured last words torn from his trembling lips as he was ripped from me and vanished in front of my eyes because I had forced him to, the way the black shutters of his orbs snapped open to showcase the naked emotion in them; that I didn't once register the shadows collecting at my back as I took Stein's coat from him after kissing him upon the cheek in greeting before hanging it up for him. After turning on a few lamps to give the room a warmer glow and drawing the curtains against the dismal sight of the rain outside that was a light drizzle now I set the television onto a comforting background hum and went over to the kitchen to take some plates out for the food I had made earlier that morning in the fridge expecting him to take a shower or sit down at his computer right away without one as he usually did after work and had began to make a coffee for him when I jolted spinning around with a nervous laugh when I realised he had noiselessly followed me an inch away from my shoulders, "How was work after I left?" I forced the roiling turmoil down deep inside of me and forced a smile.

He gave a so-so shrug and as I took the tsukemono pickles out he finally spoke, "Isn't that what we had for breakfast?" With a deep frown his eyebrows lowered until they became hidden by his glasses and I froze like a thief does with the one red hand caught inside the cookie jar.

"Y-Yes, but you didn't try any so I thought I would save it - tamagoyaki omelette is your favourite" my voice began to stammer as I began to realise the true intention behind his foul mood was because the sense of Red and scent of spice rode high upon the air.

"You didn't think to cook something else during the hours I was at work?" His voice dropped to become cold and dark as he rotated his screw a few times with a eerie kink to his head as his neck clicked to the side, the plate of lovingly prepared egg roll dropped loudly and noisily smashed ruined down on the floor as he grabbed my arms, "Or were you busy with something else?" His fingers tightened to the point of pain around my wrists and I didn't struggle for fear of antagonising him further than I already accidentally had.

My eyes closed to savour the darkness behind them as the beating began, the tears began to seep from under my closed eyelids as one became swollen and discoloured but no noise left my mouth until he kicked me in the side and I fell coughing blood to the floor with no grip to find support with. No sadistic pleasure to mask the brutal act or gentle presence of Red, the cold kitchen tiles and healing resonance soothed my injuries until the minutes stretched and a blessed numbness set in as the wet sound of breaking flesh was punctuated by the crack of one of my ribs breaking - without my weapons boost of power I was unable to recover the more serious injuries and my fingers weakly clawed at the floor in a weak effort to stop him. After some time there was the strident noise of the phone ringing and some distant part of me noted though the pain remained the cause of it had stalked hurriedly over to it swearing foully that he had been interrupted before all went black in an entirely different way.

* * *

><p>A smooth skinned hand touched mine gently before clasping it in sure, slim fingers to lift me gently out of a deep sleep and my ears registered loud shouts, I was too fuzzy to discern the owners of them but the anger was apparent and rode high through the walls sealing the nurses office off from the corridor.<p>

"I felt the agitation in her soul! Don't tell me nothing is wrong!"

"I told you not to come back here anymore"

My eyes blearily slowly opened to adjust and recognise a pair that I both did not expect or want to see as Nygus's bandages shifted when she smiled happily to see that I was alert, taking her palm from where it had rested upon the back of mine to take some notes on her clipboard, "Aoihoshi, I'm so glad to see that you are awake" I winced at the clinical bright white walls of the room.

Before we could continue Stein came in to fill the expanse of the open doorway as his soul felt the subtle buzz of mine awaken in the room next to the hallway that he had been standing out in, he closed the doorway behind him with an air of finality with a pleased expression that spoke nothing that he may have been arguing a second earlier. His gentle smile held none of the anger it had inflicted upon me hours before as he immediately made his way over to the hospital bed that I was lay downing my back in, I found that despite a little tired I didn't feel almost as bad as I thought that I would.

"You had me so worried" he must have caught my confused expression in response to his concerned enough sounding words, he was the perfect actor. Nygus's dreadlocks bristled as she tucked the covers a little tighter around my side which felt heavy and wooden as though encased in plaster and I noticed a drip leading from one arm leading into a clear bag hanging on a metal stand beside the bed, "It's been two days" my lips parted in shock which intensified a moment later as he patted my head fondly gentle enough that it wouldn't hurt anything fragile, "Now that you're pregnant you can't go out on missions getting bruised up like this anymore" my chest iced over to freeze my heart so that it skipped a beat as instinctively my hands rose to cover my stomach despite the pain it gave me,

"P-Pregnant?" I asked in a tentative whisper despite it confirmed everything that I had known all along. I opened up my wavelength and felt the tiny response nudge of a growing presence like a tiny flickering candle light within the presence of the brighter, bigger souls in the vicinity. Stein bent his head to nuzzle his nose against my earlobe giving the perfect impression of an exuberant loving soon to be father.

Nygus sent me another genuine smile, "I sensed it when I healed you after your operation, the two of you must be so happy" she gave us a little privacy after handing a happily nodding Stein some release papers to sign and explaining that from how now it was imperative I take it easy for the foreseeable future. The thought of that terrified me as I thought of the anchor growing heavier each day inside of my womb to chain me to that house and his cruel hands forever.

My eyes strove to avoid his as my body felt heavy in a way aside from my broken rib plastered together and alit on a bunch of vased flowers on the cupboard next to my bed - they were the same fire coloured hue as my hair, or somebody else's that I knew to be the only one who shared it, "Franken, d-did you buy me those?" I was stunned by their beauty.

He looked up from where he had taken a chair and was filling out some paperwork propped on his knee with one leg crossed over the other for support "Yes, but I don't like them. They're too bright for your newly awakened eyes" his bright smile booked no argument, "I'll buy you some others"


	23. Chapter 23

The first couple of hours spent swaddled back in our apartment were plagued as despite being lay down I could get no true sense of rest due to the turmoil of feelings and hormones inside of me along with Stein agitatedly flitting around me touching every inch of exposed pyjamas he could touch and asking me if I needed anything. After making a few celebratory phone calls one of which I could hear him happily enlightening Spirit about what he saw as good news; my hands drifted towards my stomach to clasp fingers over it as my eyes wandered over to the large pile of magazines and chocolate the ecstatic father to be had bought me which I had no appetite for, was this the child of an insane murderer before me? The weeks passed until my hands registered a bump forming without any sexual contact from Stein who had other more pressing matters on his mind as he moved the television set into the bedroom so I wouldn't have to move to the lounge to watch it and kept the door open at all times so I could hear him calling from there at his computer to ask if I needed anything; the rare times we were in public he was nothing but extraordinarily genteel and committed always taking my gently hand to guide me if we crossed the road and thinking nothing of buying a taxi so that I wouldn't have to walk, even carrying me bridal style up the DWMA steps to save me the effort was not below his attention. I was alert every waking second looking for a slip in his new demeanour but even Shinigami-Sama noticed nothing amiss as he congratulated us and whimsically pondered upon the possibility of an upcoming marriage for us; my blood froze within my veins when Stein offhandedly shrugged and gave a small, bashful smile, it had not escaped my attention that Marie was the only member of staff not to send us a card or a kind word as the news reached the ears of students and the silver haired man soon came home with small but thoughtful gifts from them for me, too.

Of Red there had been no sign, I felt his absence more than ever as the time stretched between the last moment I had seen him - denied even lucky glimpses of scarlet hair in the DWMA corridors I had deduced despite nobody telling me so that he had taken an extended leave from missions as I had been forced to, I wondered why - after all if there was one thing I knew about my former weapon it was that he enjoyed throwing himself into his work. I questioned when I had began calling him my former weapon, was I turning from a meister irrevocably into a mother? Could I turn back? The inhabitants of Death City complained daily of the rain carrying on despite monsoon season being over spurred on by my tears as I spent days by my window with my palms on the glass foggy with my breath looking outside.

Perhaps it was the cold reality of what he had irreversibly done as the lump in my stomach grew over months to a basketball sized lump that became the central point of gravity which I moved around with my palms always protectively clasped over my stomach as though that alone could protect my baby from the cruel world it would be born into - I stubbornly refused to think of it as ours alone without him; or perhaps he truly was working longer hours as he explained he was to earn extra money for what he said would be an expensive lifetime ahead - that send chills down my spine for sure, but Stein gradually began to withdraw from me. He came home so late at night that I often fell asleep on the sofa when trying to wait up for him and when I crankily woke up in the same place with aches in all the wrong places, managed to shuffle over to his door and knock quietly, there was always the Do Not Disturb tag he usually hung upon his laboratory when he was working inside upon his bedroom door instead. It would open a crack, just enough to see the irritation clear in his yellow eyes and resentment as they travelled down my short but blossoming stature, and he would say that who cares how late he slept with all the work he had to do - So after it closed and there would be no further sound from the other side I would eat a little of the tasteless breakfast I had made for both of us though my strange appetite meant I ate more salted crackers than real food. It was after one of these particular bad mornings that I rang Stein at home from the phone in the DWMA nurses office because he had forgotten to attend the check up for the baby,

"Hello?" A female voice answered, and Nygus gave me a quick glance from over her notes as she felt my surprised soul shudder in suspicion.

"Don't ever answer the phone baka!" I heard my lover angrily scold her from somewhere in the background.

"But I only spoke for a second-!" it whined before cutting off and with a chilling sense if realisation I recognised it to be Marie. I put the receiver back in its cradle and slumped against the desk as a long sigh escaped me and the mummy nurse weapon snapped one some latex gloves with a threatening snap - I winced automatically remembering how Stein wore them when he inflicted pain.

"All set?" she asked with an eyebrow raised so that it disappeared under her bandages to be hidden, and when I nodded she showed some concern as the visible parts of her forehead wrinkled and her blue-white eyes narrowed at me like an arrow, "Is Stein not going to be present?" When I shook my head she said nothing as I struggled to lay down on the padded table comfortably on my back without feeling suffocated by the burden growing large inside of me, when I had done so she raised up my flatteringly baggy maternal sweater to expose my distended stomach and one gentle hand lingeringly traced the scar there from many months ago faded now just like the sharp pain the memory had once induced before she placed both palms on my stomach, "This won't hurt a bit" she smiled warmly but despite that fear tingled throughout my limbs and tensed them to bunch up.

Both of our heads snapped up a moment later and I felt a curious mix of hope, disappointment, fear and confusion as I thought the soon to be Father had decided he should be present at the check up of his only, first child which all disappeared leaving only the latter as a ruby haired head sauntered in and slammed the door behind him, he put up an obnoxious hand to the nurses protests that he couldn't just waltz in here who sent me a worried look that turned to surprise as she saw the first true smile upon my face in weeks, "I want him to stay!" The words were torn with such urgency from my mouth I had the decency to blush as both sets of eyebrows rose in surprise to stare at me, she gently advised me against doing such actions when I began to try and move to touch him - fearing he was a mirage or illusion of my loneliness,

**_It's about time you were honest about what you want for once_**...Red slammed himself down into the vacated chair as though he owned it and tried to blend in with the furniture, a little difficult when you were his height, hair colour and amount of handsome.

"Didn't Stein tell you not to come here? This may be considered a little indecent..." Nygus began referring to our compromising opinions on this situation - he wasn't related nor did he have any true reason for being here at all, but she trailed off as her wavelength sensed how when Red had grabbed my feverishly clasping hand to keep me lay down our resonance swept away my morning sickness and a healthy colour was restored to my cheeks as my azure eyes visibly brightened noticeably by several shades to happiness like clouds lifting from a sky. I wondered what she had meant by Stein warning him against visiting but put it aside to ask him later because I was so overjoyed to simply have him here as exuberant waves rebounded throughout our resonance echoing back off each other.

_**How have you been**_? We both asked at the same time and giggled aloud before I added,_ I've missed you_.

**_I've been waiting to hear you say that, I must say it was worth ignoring you for_**...he joked sardonically with a lazy nonchalant smile that if in better health I would have smacked off his face - and he knew that.

Shaking her head imperceptibly she wove her way around us and put her fingers back just under my belly button, pretending to focus on her task as really her keen concentration took in the way my weapon curled the tired lank strands of crimson hair around my ear before clasping the side of my cheek to tenderly stare at my contentedly closed eyes like a cat being petted in the right way. A moment later she was finished and after writing down some notes she threw her gloves in the bin sending me a tired glance that as I shuffled upwards and adjusted my clothing to stare worriedly at her vanished, "Don't worry, your baby is fine. In fact, he is very healthy" my lips parted.

"He?" I repeated dumbly and Nygus scratched the back of her head in clear shame, Red shot darting looks between the two of us and then his gazed honed in on my stomach and his black eyes widened slightly as he 'got it'.

"Ah! I'm so sorry if you wanted it to be a surprise Aoihoshi! I just assumed with the strength of the soul you would have sensed the gender.." I shook my head to tell her that it was nothing as in truth the reason that I had not discerned the gender of my baby is because I had largely been trying to avoid it, "He gave me quite the shove out of his consciousness - he's remarkably developed for his age" she gave me another smile to show that this was a good thing and she scuttled away to avoid further embarrassment to get my anti sickness medication.

**_So, it's a boy_**...Red's voice remarked nothing as he kept resumed his 'couldn't care less I just happened to be walking by here' expression that he always kept up toughly as I raised my shaking hands up under my jumper and gently touched my stomach with the same dawning tenderness one uses trying to diffuse a bomb. There was a combined gasp drawn out from both of us as through our resonance he felt when the stars, galaxy heaven and earth unified me in a way that meant I felt connected to the mind and heart of every organism Shinigami had given rise to; I felt my baby and he registered both of us with the innocent, greedy joy of a child,

In the darkness the soul that had only been a speck of light before and was now a clearly defined bright blue almost blinding in its innocence let out a tentative young voice,

...**Mama**...?

..._My son_..


	24. Chapter 24

I was irritated, no - repulsed, by the amount of strangers who now I was noticeably pregnant felt the need to put their Shinigami knows where they have been hands on the large bump no jumper could hide, my unborn son reflected my opinion which was that we wished the attention had stopped like the cards and chocolates sent from friends and coworkers had after three months. You'd ineffectually conclude that Stein would use any means necessary (limb removal if the need arose) to keep me in the house at such a stage of pregnancy where I could trip over just trying to take a shower but he evidently had his hands full with some particular body parts of Marie - if you assume I felt despair towards my boyfriend spending time away from me for another woman it was only because walking to and from the babies check up sessions was exhausting by myself, and that was rarely as Red often accompanied me to the door of Nygus's office when he would have to leave.

Aside from our nights spend together sleeping as far apart as the double mattress would allow accommodating my blossoming stomach he was out the long hours of the day and had little reason to conclude I left the house otherwise to get some fresh air or indulge in a hormone induced dietary whim - the latter impulsions and sickness had actually passed a month ago as I came into the third trimester; any suspicion he felt towards the way that my skin was lit with an inner glow with the secret that I held was squashed by town folks stopping us regularly to compliment me on my beauty and mother to be shine. Far from wishing to show off his lush, pregnant wife in a silk dress ripe with the fruits of our shared love at expensive dinner parties with his friends and work colleagues the distance between us had grown larger than the circumference of Death City allowed for; although he had spent an entire night out who knows where drinking with Spirit to celebrate the news that he was having a son.

I often took long, slow walks around the city that took several hours soaking up the sunshine that my son enjoyed, it was one of the times I spend bonding with him that Red would oh so happen to walk by to join us in a scant handful of minutes after I had left the house; eventually I quit questioning why he just by chance was taking the same street as me yet had no particular destination nor intent in mind within the first week of it happening. Over time my sons thoughts had grown more distinct and eloquent in the sense he could now construct three word sentences to tell me his demands, I knew that he wanted to meet us very much and that Red's presence noticeably calmed him - however he refused to speak in the presence of his father and when I tried to ask him why there was no reply but the sickly hollow sensation of resentment spreading through my stomach; I decided to not mention to Stein that he vocally made himself known to me through our resonance as our son's soul developed until I could see strands of pointy blue hair and lazy eyes.

It was upon one of these long stretches of hours whilst Stein was 'at work' or 'unavailable' - I transcribed both to mean that he could be with his former weapon, and I was about to take a stroll when I noticed an old, large broken suitcase with no wheels I had set next to the front door for him to carry down the steps when I had been cleaning last week, I sighed and hefted it up to take it outside and with a screech almost dropped it on my toe when Red's lean, tall figure sauntered to fill the doorframe as he leant on one side with his arm and dipped his head to rest the side of his face on it, **_What's got you sighing so early_** _**in the morning**_? His pitch eyes travelled slowly down lingering on my stomach as they always did before looking at the suitcase,_** A man should do the heavy lifting especially in your situation**_, he hushed me with one hand as I protested and lifted the case easily with the other - seeing the fluid effortless movement I quickly gave in because me doing it would look pitifully hilarious in comparison.

I rushed as much as my body would allow me to do around the furniture to pick up my teal bag and slung it over my shoulder, aside from that I wore a light green hooded sweater with long sleeves that clung tightly to my large stomach despite it being an XL with brown leggings and locked the door behind me, slowing to carefully mince my clumsy way down the steps, _**Geez I'm such a nice guy, why am I still single**_? He asked with his chin leant on one hand as he sat on the fence bordering our wildly overgrown (why do I even still call it a) garden and I rolled my eyes at him, **_Probably because you're taken_**.

_Baka_! I tried to elbow him and he grinned raising his hands as he dodged away easily with a chuckle. Our banter was unrelenting as we made our way into the heart of Death City and I span around as speedily as I could outside DeathBucks and got on my tip toes to be nose to neck with him, he sniggered seeing how I still couldn't meet him eye to eye despite my best efforts, _Go away! You're so annoying!_

**_And you're useless, if you get mugged on the way home what will you do? Sit on them_**? He laughed aloud with his arms interlinked behind his brightly ruby haired head and a few people turned around to look towards the source of the noise - a pair of vivid crimsons with one of them pregnant already drew enough stares as it was, but he annoyed me and I rose to his bait;

_Are you calling me fat_?! I roared and pushed him in the chest with all of my strength, despite that I hardly budged him an inch. _I'm going to go buy some baby clothes_! I stormed off moodily with my arms crossed under my chest as fast as I could (not very) in the hope that he wouldn't follow - after all, all men hated looking at baby clothes and shopping with women.


	25. Chapter 25

The cold air conditioning inside the stores had a soothing effect and I had been calming down looking at some dark blue tiny pairs of grow suits touching each in turn to feel how my son responded to each with a pleasant warm tingle or sickening twist of my stomach; happy enough about sending some time by myself - I mean, really alone with my son, for once. Then suddenly a crimson alarm stridently rang in my consciousness like a fire drill and Red leaned over my shoulder resting his arm upon the wall between the racks of clothing like he spent every day in here,**_ I don't think that will fit you_**...

The slight scream I made may not have entirely been a mental one and as he clutched his ears in agony a few worried store clerks looked over, he took his hands away from his ears to raise his hand and give them a placating no worries smile - with his scars it made them look ever the more worried so I raised my hand to let them know everything was alright. Surprised to see that he had followed me was the weakest word I could use to describe how I felt as he held up a cute light blue bone printed grow suit against his chest, **_This is kind of cool_**.

_It wouldn't fit you_, I parroted him smugly and he dropped it with shame that he had been drawn into participating like it had caught on fire when a motherly looking store woman came over - I reflexively folded my hands over my bump as best as I could to deter her from getting her dirty mitts - although to her credit she looked clean and well presented but I was a grouchy hormonal lioness, on my son, "Oh what a cute couple!" she laughed as we blushed with horror, "There's no denying what the hair colour of your child will be!" she giggled behind her hand making a compliment on our bright hair and went to arrange more clothes stands before either of us could protest.

There was a heavy leaden air of things unsaid in the air between us as the mood undeniably soured and when he gruffly shoved his hands in his pockets with a cold shoulder to stalk out the store I hurried as best as I could to follow him - I found him a short pace away outside with a regretful look as he saw how my chest was heaving as I was exhausted by just running for a second or two, _**Sorry, that just got a little awkward back there - I guess that she thought**_...

So in turmoil were his emotions before he locked them off from me that his voice inside my head was weak and distant despite the fact that we were stood close, my son sensed this and rolled over discontentedly inside of me, I cut across him which usually due to his stronger powers I could never do, _Yeah I could see how this would look like_...I trailed off as I saw something shift in his shadowy black eyes that could have been longing, was he wishing what the woman had said was true? As the idea rose in my mind the both of us blushed as despite I hadn't voiced my concern he sensed it and didn't deny nor argue about it. For a few more minutes we stood there in mute, strangled silence until our cheeks had cooled and I was rubbing the polished floor tiles agitatedly with my shoe.

**_Can I touch him_**? He asked suddenly with his well formed but scarred face turned away so that I couldn't ascertain much of his forced nonchalant expression from his equally pleasing side profile; he had never asked before and after hearing one of my many rants on how sick I was of random members of Death City touching my bump like me being pregnant gave them a licence too I guessed he wouldn't. I stiffly nodded numbly and he followed me as I silently made my way to a shadowy corner next to a large decorative plant before turning so my back was to the escalators and stores to pull up my jumper a little, I jumped a little when he came up behind me and stealthily moved his arm over my shoulder to drop his fingertips down lightly on my stomach - leant up against his chest this way was surprisingly comfortable and I wearily automatically leant back my head to rest it on his chest, **_He likes me_**.

I watched his hand as the palm connected fully like a brand heating my stomach pleasantly and his sharp breath of relief fell hot against my ear as he bent a little, but the main source of heat between us came from the rush of endorphins as we were engulfed into a happy resonance that drew the breath from our lungs with shock and turned the air around us temporarily yellow with sun flowers._ I know_, I managed to say when he had taken his hand away and the mirage had vanished as we moved apart and our trio resonance broke,

_**He told you**_? He asked looking at me with a slight but disguised hope and I pulled down my jumper giving him a sly smile as I pointed up one finger,

_I feel everything that he does, remember_, I recited to him as we began to walk towards the escalators to take us to another part of the large shopping mall. We both stumbled as a third voice chimed in to join us,

**Happy**. A warm, comfortable ease surrounded us both from the single clearly spoken word that rang like a bell in my mind, it had come as no surprise to me that my son had decided to speak to myself and not his father, Nygus had foretold he would he extremely academic due to Stein's genes and with my own together we would produce an outstanding meister, but I was shocked that he spoke to Red.

_I could go for a cheeseburger_...I announced to distract him from my astonished expression and we made our way towards the nearest fast food that sold some which was outside of the mall on one of the main streets.

**_You don't look like you need one_**! He commented back quickly with a grin half hidden behind his already upraised arms defended against my oncoming retort, when none came he dropped them a moment later and I took my chance then to aim a punch at his shoulder - regretfully it may had hurt my knuckles more than him.

I froze suddenly as though soul sultures had nailed me pinioned to the spot as I recognised Stein standing alone outside Uncle Joe's Rumba Coffee, I took a step forward nearer to walk over and that was when the blonde woman I recalled to be his former weapon Marie ran over shouting his name and the two of them embraced as if drawn together and kissed. I was breathless with shock as they walked away without seeing me hand in hand and slowly slumped down on the floor at a complete loss of what to do, despite knowing he had been cheating on me and being glad of a distraction so he wouldn't hurt me to sate his boredom it was altogether different feeling now that I had seen them together. My mind recoiled away from the tentative, probing touches of my son as he asked, **Are you okay? Mama**? And I couldn't reply.

There was a sharp exhale of air as Red pulled me up and I hissed writhing against his hold on me as he scrubbed my wet cheeks and eyes dry with his sleeve because he wasn't the kind of guy to own a handkerchief, he led me away by the hand just as Stein had done so with Marie, _**Come on let's get out of this dump...**_


	26. Chapter 26

A month passed with the larger amount of weeks spent regretting leaving the house as every time I came outside Red was there to ask me why I hadn't broken up with Stein yet. The answers of _Because I'm with his child, baka! Shinigami knows what would happen if I broke up with that mad scientist! How long do you think a pregnant girl would last on the streets_? Evidently fell on deaf ears until I exploded at him and threatened to never leave my bedroom again so he couldn't see me, then he relented and dropped the subject. Despite not bringing up the topic of seeing my boyfriend with Marie in Death City for fear of dismemberment I had gotten my revenge on him in other ways not just limited to now secretly giving him takeaway or store bought meals under the pretence I had cooked them all day and instead I had spent the day with Red; in itself my son still not speaking to him in the face of his staggeringly developing mental powers was a personal affront to his father. His father who half the time told me he was at work therefore couldn't attend my prenatal sessions with Nygus, yet wasn't in the classroom he said he was teaching in when I stopped by afterwards to check - field trips weren't that popular; but I hadn't seen him again with Marie since that day despite all the signs pointed towards that he was till seeing her. I had long ago realised that the shock on the death pistol twins faces when I had resonated with them months ago had been because they had sensed my pregnancy before I had known it myself, and news had quickly spread throughout the DMWA scant days after Nygus had told me - so now hardly anyone paid me notice in the corridors aside to move aside to let me pass.

Today was passing much like any other despite my son had been sending me a strange sense of urgency from the moment I woke up despite his birthdate being two weeks away, I tried to reassure him and rubbed my hands over my stomach through my shirt humming a placating lullaby under my breath for a minute before Stein sent me a shut up look from where he was walking in front of me, "No need for you to waste your strength up all of these steps" he relinquished me from walking him to work and I perked up a little before we shared an awkward stilted hug around my stomach which had more between us than just the pregnancy bump keeping us apart. He would be lecturing in classes under the impression that I was at home preparing dinner for him when in actuality I spent the next hour wistfully looking through jewellery because I couldn't afford to buy any - Stein gave me a meagre allowance now that pretty much allowed me to buy baby clothes and food. I walked out from the glittering store of diamond studded temptations and froze before leaping back to hide in the shadows of the doorway when I saw a familiar grey haired man wearing a lab coat hold the door open to coax a similarly recognisable blonde inside the French, expensive Deathsteraunt with his hand on the small of her back. _Work, huh? Yeah right_...Despite myself I felt a twinge of jealousy as my son kicked out against the inside of me to showcase his own thoughts.

I jumped noticeably and clutched my chest as my heart pounded from shock as right on cue Red came out from the store that I had just been in, for all his noticeable appearance I hadn't seen him inside when I had been browsing and he wasn't the kind of guy to wear that kind of stuff so I was confused, _**Surely he should be taking you in there? Maybe we should go in and take the table next to theirs - my treat**_.

He nodded to incline his head towards the restaurant and my face blushed red with what could have been embarrassment, resentment or anger,_ Do you follow me around every day just so you pop up at the worst moments of my life_? I shot towards him with angrily narrowed eyes which he laughed off with a good natured snigger to show how unimpressed he was by me irate.

**_Yes, how else could I be there to start cheering you up the second you become unhappy_**? I gave him a flatly hostile stare that indicated great pain would come unto him should he follow me and walked away from him.

Of course he did doggedly keeping two paces behind until I span around and clumsily stepped on his toe, he winced as despite it was unintentionally done I wickedly decided I would keep my shoe just where it was, _Quit the smooth talk_.

**_Ouch, I'll let that one slide due to your relationship problems_**. The passerbys in the street stopped with gasps to look as I raised my hand to give him a slap and he deftly caught it,

_Fuck you_! I locked eyes with him angrily hating every inch of the cocky, amused expression on his face as he grinned at me from beneath his riotous flame hued hair with amusement in those cold chips of black ice.

**_I'll put that one down to pregnancy hormones_**. He wriggled his eyebrows which was where my second better aimed fist landed a second later to the pained noises of the crowd that had gathered, he landed in a groaning heap on the floor and a second later I felt the hot gushing relief familiar to usually when I went to the toilet, **_Hey Aoihoshi? Did I make you so angry you actually pissed yourself_**? He began laughing hysterically and bashing the ground with his fists.

I was in too much pain to kick him as people rushed to help me grasping me by either elbow for support and between a long line of expletives a few words were recognisable, "My waters are bloody breaking you absolute idiot!"


	27. Chapter 27

I had been waiting huffing out agitated pants from where after wriggling out of my outfit and into a nightgown I had laid on my back on the sofa an agonising ten minutes after I had called Stein telling him that the baby was coming early and I needed him to visit Nygus with me NOW which dragged on as the contractions intensified despite my son doing his best to block the pain of them in our resonance. Red had insisted on tagging along as he had paid for the taxi home after my waters had broke humiliatingly early on the streets in Death City and stubbornly refused to leave once I was settled indoors and I had no energy to stop him,

_**Do you want another glass of water**_? No noise meant no, a strangled groan may have meant yes or my insides had seized up again; I closed my eyes against the dizzying blur of him running around the room and kitchen as he listed off items he could get for me, _**Hot water bottle? Favourite DVD? Painkillers? Chocolate? Cake?**_

I tore myself away long enough to shoot him an alarmed and irate glare as I huffed out through my nose and braced my legs a little further apart, I didn't care for how ladylike I looked right now with my hair sticking to my forehad and the nape of my neck with sweat, _Do I look like I want to eat anything baka?!_

He ran his hands agitatedly through his hair until it stuck up in wild tufts like a roaring fire **_Maybe we should just get a cab to the DMWA and he could meet us there?_** I shook my head in ignorant belief that despite how he had been acting since the pregnancy Stein would be here for the birth of his son, and after what seemed like an eternity the front door opened and as I staggered up on my elbows the hot pain lacing up my stomach enthused my anger so that I spat with narrowed eyes,

"I'd ask where the fuck you've been but I know you've been with Marie" I instantly regretted it as he took off his glasses and put them in his lab coat pocket before calmly taking it off and turning around, his eyes were cold and stern set despite the large grin that distorted his mouth as one hand twisted the screw through his head.

**_About time_**...Red muttered as he stalked quickly behind the couch where I was lain with one arm already partially transformed from the elbow down into a sleek black bazooka with a gleaming jewel array of red lights dancing up its barrel.

There was a blur speeding towards me as he performed a movement too fast for my eyes to follow and a moment later his hands were at my neck, I rose my weak arms a second too late to defend myself thinking that he was going to strangle me but instead me had broken the thin golden pendant that Red had given me earlier as explanation for why he had been inside the same jewellery shop as me, "It would seem that I am not the only one guilty of keeping secrets here" he threw it to the floor as though the sight of it angered him further and crushed it beneath his foot.

"No!" I cried both in response to the act as because I had seen Red's hand twitch towards going to attack him before my eyes closed against the pain in my stomach so that I didn't see the punch coming; the blinding white ringing agony blocked sight and vision as it engulfed my head with all the terror and unwinding intensity of an orgasm without any of the pleasure as the deafening silence was sliced askew by Red's mental roar of anguish and suddenly everything rushed back as my chest began to heave and something warm and wet gushed down my legs as voices all clamoured inside my head all at once and it was a relief when I passed out.


	28. Chapter 28

**Where are you**?

The voice snapped me awake instantly with such a noticeable jolt that Nygus ran over from where she had been seeing to another patient on the other side of the room, I knew that she hasn't been the one to call me yet as she came to check on my pulse and pupils I had to respond to her first as she began to try and ask me a series of questions to check how I felt and if I retained any memory loss,

"I'm really sick of waking up in here" I managed in response; she sympathetically smiled as she passed me over a glass of water and as I tried to sit up there was a hot pain all to reminiscent of what I had experienced earlier before I had succumbed to the blessed darkness, she quickly pressed a hand to my shoulder to show I shouldn't make such sudden movements so I took the glass in a shaking, uncertain hand and took small, refreshing sips, _I'm right here...don't worry_...

**Why can't I see you**? The voice called again and Nygus wrapped her arms around me to hold me steady as I choked and began to cough, she quickly confiscated the water.

"Please Aoihoshi, you should know by now that you need to stay in bed" she chastised me and wrote a few things on her chart as though she couldn't sense the pleading voice or the confused, appeasing resonance that hung thick and heavy within the clinical white walls of the room.

**Please come and hold me**...Despite her orders I struggled to sit upright as best as I could looking for its source which came from a small bassinet in the corner of the room next to the sunshine which streamed in from the window. The weapon nurse hurried back when she heard the noise and stood at the foot of my bed, she frowned beneath her bandages as I clutched my stomach underneath the gown as lightly as I could feeling the emptiness where life had once grown icily chill me as I began to feel a sense of oncoming panic which brought a sweat to my brow,

"Don't try to stand you're on a lot of pain medication for the stitches I administered, I'll bring your son to you" as she walked away to retrieve him I could hardly contain running out of bed when she returned with a small oval face tucked into the crook of her arm warmly wrapped in a blanket. At the mention of stitches I was sharply reminded of the father of the son I was about to meet and the uncertain future I had before me - all I was sure of now is I wanted to hold my new child.

**Mama**! The voice echoed the love that I felt and surged on my own until gentle tears dripped from beneath my eyelids and when he questioned them silently I sent him a smile to let him know that they were caused by my unquenchable happiness.

"Please let me see him, is he okay?" My questions couldn't seem to come out fast enough as she answered by transferring that small bundle of skin and cloth that seemed too diminutive to be the source of such a huge, powerful soul.

I pressed him against my chest through the thin blue material of my surgical gown as though he could be inside of me again and our sweet, happy resonance echoed in the room as I nuzzled my cheek against the top of his head already showing some strands of pale grey hair and his eyes gently eased open to show they were a blinding blue, _I am so happy_.

"Ah! Aki-kun! Where is Red?" I asked suddenly as my head sharply turned up to where the DWMA staff member was contentedly smiling as she overlooked the contented reunion scene. I expected her to question or be suspicious about my choice of asking about my weapon rather than the father of my child but she didn't,

**Otou-san.**..the newborn boy in my arms whispered as he turned his face up to mine and gave what was undeniably a smile. My face turned to a frown and his face blanked in confusion when he felt that I didn't want him to say that.

"He's outside" her face showed no signs of surprise but I was too busy to notice as I was entranced with how my son was sucking on the tip of my finger; but I was glad that she didn't give a response that indicated he had been so badly hurt he was also under her care or suffering any penalty for attacking a colleague of Shinigami-Sama's.

Still though I wasn't sure if I wanted him to come in just yet as I treasured the time alone with...I wondered if I would have to choose a name for him with Stein or indeed if I would have any say in the matter and with a sigh strove to quell the negative thought before he picked up on it as in response to his questioning I opened up my surgical gown and let him feed, it was a curious sensation pleasant as he could sense from my discomfort when to suck softer and as my engorged breasts had been agonisingly full, "Where is Stein?" I finally asked knowing that there was no sense in running from the question eventually and discontentment radiated outwards from my child.

It was irksome that Nygus wore bandages as I could tell nothing about her expression as she answered, "With Shinigami-Sama" then to my surprise her brow noticeably darkened "He will be put under house arrest with suspended wages until a conclusion is reached" my lips parted with shock as my son released feeding from me in unison shock, "I want you to stay here another night under my supervision but is there any other place that you could stay from tomorrow onwards?" I sadly shook my head with an expression that showed cracks were beginning to show revealing I was caving in from the inside, "Don't worry staying with a friend will only be temporary, Shinigami-Sama and the DWMA will not fail to help a student in their time of need" she smiled and nodded at me, "You are not alone Aoihoishi" her eyes showed a sympathetic tenderness I had never seen her show towards any of her patients before but it shattered the moment the door was literally kicked from its hinges...


	29. Chapter 29

Red ran into the room with such exuberance there was a cloud of dust in his wake and I was surprised but glad to see that he was well enough to do so as he stopped an inch or so away from us panting with his hands on his knees, okay evidently he must have taken a little beating as he wouldn't usually be so out of breath from running such a short distance, "She can stay with me at my apartment"

"Stop listening in on my conversations" I lowered my eyebrows sternly to frown at him despite through our resonance he could feel how happy myself and my son both were to see him as bright yellow joy radiated from my arms, I hurriedly pulled my nightgown closed with a scuffle, _I'm so glad you're okay_. My eyes reflected the mental thought a second before my face turned away and I began to trace the rim of my sons delicate ear lovingly with one gentle finger.

**_Glad to see you're back to normal_**...he sardonically replied as he always did despite contrastingly subtle glimpses trying to look at my son who was just as eager to see him as he wriggled against me.

**Red! I am here! Come to me**! His mental voice was even louder than ours as he gave a feeble wail from trembling pale lips.

"I'll give you two some privacy to discuss the situation" she tactfully excused herself to take some files into another room and shut the door behind her, I could tell from the steady beep of a heart monitor and even breathing along with the dimmed light of the souls that the other person besides the three of us in the room was fast asleep.

**_You've been in here way too much, buying you flowers is becoming expensive_**...he slouched into the chair beside my bed and carelessly threw a bouquet of beautiful dazzlingly bright red flowers that I had seen before with such arrogance a few curled petals fell off onto the covers.

_Wait...So the day that I found out that I was pregnant you gave me those flowers_? I blinked as my eyes widened with shock despite my hand still resuming where it had been distractedly gently stroking my sons head who was now also resting soundly.

**_You're so slow, but I'll put that down to that also being the day that Stein kicked the shit out of you_**...he smirked and crossed his arms behind his head like he always did and nothing had happened between us to change anything but despite that I couldn't read his black eyes,_** I held your hand for the first day but he sent me away**_.

I frowned at him and he winched against my mental barrage in response to him cursing in front of my baby who may in some distant way still hear it as he slept..._I think I heard you both arguing when I woke up, thank you they are beautiful_. I passed one hand over them but my son stirred so I arranged him more comfortably against my chest instead.

**_Can I_**...? He asked suddenly with those veiled shadowy eyes covertly kept a pointed distance away from where mine could meet them so that doing so would impossible, it was just like yesterday when he had asked to touch my stomach - it felt like a lifetime had passed since then and my body was certainly tired enough to indicate such as I weakly nodded knowing despite his great strength he could be tender when the need arose. He shuffled the chair closed and leant over with one arm extended so his hand touched that of my sleeping sons, his eyes were on his face so I was able to catch the naked tenderness in them as a soft grin accompanied by an embarrassed blush rose on his sheepishly pleased face as a tiny hand wrapped around one of his fingers.

Despite the moment that this could have been I couldn't let myself indulge for a second that this would be in any way similar to how the reunion between myself, my child and his father would be which is why my body tensed noticeably in a manner that made him take his hand away and his back solidly hit the chair again with a thud, _Why are you still here, you know that you are not his real father_...I hated myself for saying it but the words were echoed in my own feelings so I knew that he would sense what I was thinking regardless of wether or not I voiced it.

_**But he is half yours and I love that part of him as much as I love you**_. My head sharply whipped up with surprise to watch how his face was firmly set with the sort of nonchalance he usually applied to disparaging an enemy during battle or walk through the streets of Death City and with the movement my son woke up and began crying stridently, Red continued as I hushed and rocked to try to placate him but it seemed his words had greater effect than what I tried doing, **_Aoihoshi...it's you, it's always been you. Until we met I never believed two souls could be made for each other, without you a feel a piece of mine is missing_**.


	30. Chapter 30

I would have found it difficult to sleep that night due to the agitated thoughts that consumed my head but weariness had consumed me so as I slept with my hand stretched out to touch my sons peacefully unaware face through a wire feeding into his nose as I had requested his incubator be moved to beside my bed. The lingering link between us had me soundly settled for a good few hours before it snapped as he began stridently crying, the pale moonlight shone on his hair to burnish it silver like an Elven sword fresh from the forge as I carefully threaded the plastic tube out from his nostrils - Nygus had told me he was healthy enough and only wanted us under her supervision for the calm of her own mind and held him to my chest as he eagerly began to feed; for minutes there was silence aside from the noise of his sucking and dim beeping machinery, soon afterwards when he finished and fell back asleep I replaced him knowing if not I would soon also with the comfort of him in my arms before doing so myself.

When I woke up I felt lighter and more refreshed than I had for days despite the difficult decisions I had ahead of me which had me keeping my eyes closed a moment longer than I could have done before my son noticed I was awake and started making loud noises to let me know he was aware of it and that he wanted to let me know that he most definitely was too, with a tired sigh I heaved myself up feeling a hell of a lot better than yesterday due to Red's healing resonance which had cured me better than enough painkillers to knock out a rhino along with the most skilled surgeon. The thought of surgery made me shiver as I thought of Stein and looked across to where my son was agitatedly waving his hands grasping the air, I picked him up in my arms easily with unscarred skin and a happy smile that hid how not at ease I felt and settled him into my arms so he could suck on my finger noticing that the wires in his noise had been removed and that he had been freshly changed into a new black romper suit.

**Mama**! The sound of his screaming had alerted Nygus who scuttled over giving us a pleased smile when she saw us awake and well,

_Good morning my darling_! I pressed my lips to the soft skin of his forehead.

"Aoihoshi, although you are free to leave from now I must express that you are free to call me anytime" she smiled and placed a card from her lab coat pocket onto my bedside table and I thanked her, "Have you given any thought to the future?" I shook my head and she sat on the side of the mattress and as she put her hand atop my ankle through the duvet her wavelength issued nothing but concern for my well being and nothing suspicious.

"I'm worried that my son will be influenced by Stein if he pertains any rights to seeing his child. I'm sure that I want to separate from him - but" I clutched him closer to me and he let out a reedy wail as he sensed me become agitated, "-I couldn't stand my baby being with him for a second"

**Why are you so upset? Is something bad happening**? I sent soothing thoughts to my son and rocked him slightly. Although I had once feared the disgrace I would feel when Stein's abusive behaviour or affair was made public now the issue was over with there was a curious sense of release despite I was reeling and unsure of what to do next.

The weapon nurse nodded, "I'm sure that in light of the evidence that has been given Shinigami-Sama will take every step to nature the safety of you and him" she smiled and asked me to sign a few release forms, which I did before sitting in bed holding my son for a long time after she had left, though I was free to leave I had nowhere else to go - my clothes and bag were at Stein's house so without them I had literally nothing but the hospital gown I wore and child I carried; as the sense of panic settled in a low whistling reached my ears as my wavelength honed in on a warm red spot making its way at a leisurely pace down the corridor outside - all the other souls of the students fluttered out of his way.

**Aki**! Our voices joined in unison and I could almost see the grin tugging his lips as he heard it.

The door was kicked open by the tip of one casually placed foot as he sauntered waving nonchalantly with one into the nurses office then plopped into the seat beside me with a wide grin on his features, "Come on, I'm here to break to you out!" his voice was as smooth and pleasing as warm chocolate to my ears so that I smiled as he did smiled as he gestured the plastic bag he had in one hand, **_I even brought you breakfast_**. Nygus looked at the damage he had caused with huge plate round eyes but decided to say nothing.

"Thank you" my eyes widened eagerly as my stomach gave a slight rumble in response to the brightly packaged bento box he was unwrapping, _Would you like to hold him?_

**Yes! Yes**! He began to squirm and wildly flail all of his arms.

Red froze slightly to pause and his hands stilled from what they had been doing as I noticed he drew his lower lip in between his teeth as he furrowed his brow beneath the churning dark eyes, then his head whipped up and he grinned widely, **_I've been waiting for you to ask_**.

We exchanged so that I could open the lid of the makunouchi bento on my lap and I felt the waves of harmonisation echoing from where Red juggled my son in his arms until he was comfortable with one tiny hand fisted in his scarlet hair, inside it was hinomaru rice with a slice of broiled salmon and a rolled egg with pickled umeboshi fruit, it was delicious and I was glad of my weapons distraction as I eagerly guzzled it down, the healing resonance had resorted my appetite, _This is great_!

He grinned and jostled up the ash haired child onto his shoulder whose happy blue eyes gleamed before he pressed his face into the older mans neck, **_I'm glad that you like it, I'm not much of a culinary expert_**.

My face showed my surprise as I almost choked and had to grab a glass of water from the bedside table before I could finish the last bite, _You picked this? The flavours compliment each other well, I didn't think you knew how to follow a recipe_...

He frowned at my teasing and my child smiled as a happy laugh sounded between the resonance between us from him and Red stroked the strands of his grey hair softly holding him like he was made from fragile glass.


	31. Chapter 31

I had been shocked when after getting out of the taxi Red had paid for selfconsciously holding the hems of his black trench coat that he had lent me to cover my surgical gown that upon entering the apartment which had been completely cleaned from wall to wall with a fresh futon, I hung up his coat upon the newly hammered in peg that hadn't been there the last time I visited and rubbed my arms up and down my upper arms feeling that I badly wanted to get clean and change into some new clothes - which was a hurdle I was not yet willing to think about as my eyes widened to take in the new microwave and fridge plugged in one corner of the room next to the hot plate.

_You got some new stuff_? I enquired mildly although I was actually very suspicious and confused as I saw even the walls had been given a fresh coat of white paint, then I turned and took my son from where he had still been inside Red's arms both pertaining a reluctance to let go of the other.

**_Yeah_**..he blushed slightly and walked away under the pretence of replacing one of his books next to his pillow back to the next stack running along his window sill.

**Home**? My son asked with a hopeful edge to his voice, his insistent asking of where we were going hadn't let up the entire time back from the DWMA where in conducting a last check up on us Nygus chuckled good naturedly when he had tugged on her finger,

_Maybe_...I trailed off because I wasn't sure of how to answer with Red still in the room, but as he crossed to walk over to the door that did not lead to the bathroom and instead went into the large undecorated room he had not used since he had rented the apartment._ What are you doing_? I came over curiously and gasped, my son wriggled wondering what the fuss was about and his hand grabbed a handful of my long ruby hair to rub his cheeks against it smiling.

**_Do you like it_**? My weapon displayed an unusual shyness as he dipped his head to shield his eyes below the chunky cut bangs, I looked in the newly painted walls the hue of a blue crisp winter morning sky that were artfully painted with soft swirling white clouds to match the ceiling with a dark navy carpet, it had a white crib and grey futon with a newly bought television set and mirror.

_This..this is too much! It must have been so expensive_! I placed my son inside the cot so that my arms could be free as I firmly turned around to face him again, _It's not that we don't appreciate this, I rose my hands, but we really don't deserve any of it_!

**I do**! He kicked out his plump little legs under the cerulean blanket that was patterned with yellow stars.

I sat down on the futon as Red took a few footsteps into the room, I noticed his hands had curled into balled fists at his sides and that each movement seemed heavy as he kept his chin tilted down, "I have money saved from every mission I've been on" he walked over to the crib and put one hand inside, I was surprised to hear him speak aloud but guessed he was secure enough in the privacy of his own apartment to do so.

**This is so comfortable**...the third happy voice chimed in occasionally playing the bass in the chorus of our lives.

"So...why live in that tiny room? Decorate this one for yourself or buy a bigger place" I watched as he crouched to lower his face to the eye level of my son who was now standing up for attention, his tiny hands stretched out to move and feel the scars on the flame haired weapons chin and side of his lip.

"I've never needed a home, just the place where you are - that will be my home" he looked up and as his lips curved into a small but pleasant gentle smile his eyes curved into crescents my heart skipped a beat. We all felt it on the resonance between us so my face began to blush when I got flustered at how suddenly he could just say things like that. The tiny pair of hands traced the scar going over one eye.

"I-I don't even have any clothes" I stammered trying to change the subject, I didn't want to go home to get any of my old ones covered in blood and bad memories and I had asked Nygus to get rid of the ruined sleeping gown I had given birth in so now all I had is my hospital gown.

He must have picked up on my dejection and he pulled a face like the idea repulsed him and offered, "I could go buy you some"

My son tugged at his hair for attention and he yelped before picking him up, **Hey! Chichi**!

I laughed and watched as he turned on the television to a slow buzz, "I wouldn't make you do that - you've done so much already, I'd love a shower but I'm so tired" I laid down on my back on the futon and he sat on the corner of it transferring my son over to me when I raised my arms so he could lie against my chest. Despite the lovely home he had created for us I still felt some sense of unease that this would all be snatched away from me the second I began accustomed to it,

He must have felt that as his eyes twitched from the television screen I could tell he hadn't really been watching towards me, "You're safe here - Stein couldn't call if he tried, I don't have a phone and he's under house arrest" my son hadn't moved for a few moments and I looked down to see that he had fallen asleep, my hand raised to softly stroke his back, "You think Marie would risk dirtying her own hands and losing her job she loves him that much?" I shook my head, "Not everyone is a knock over like you" he teased to try and get a grin or angry response from me - anything to snap me from my dejected mood but it didn't work.

I sighed and held the warm, tiny body closer to me "This just all feels like a dream, and at some point I'll wake up" I looked up to the beautifully painted clouds on the ceiling and wished that they were real and the three of us really were contentedly soaring through the skies away from Stein's grasping fingertips.

"Aoihoshi, you of all people deserve happiness" was all he replied with a lowered eyebrow but I couldn't discern his expression from his side profile.


	32. Chapter 32

**(A/N: I dedicate this last chapter to OrdinaryInsanity for consistent reviews and sticking with me until the end)**

An hour or two passed so midday had crept upon us when Red asked me if I was feeling hungry, I shook my head "No, just tired" I had been unable to sleep so far, "But he is" I admitted with a blush as I gestured to the still sleeping child on what was my very full, aching chest and the colour of his cheeks rose to match mine,

"I think I might go for a walk" he retreated tactfully, "Is there anything that you need?" His eyebrows widened as I began to recite a long list with one finger raised of everything one would need for a newborn - Nygus had helpfully provided me with a starter kit of nappies, baby powder and wipes.

**I'm hungry**! The screams were getting louder as the voice insisted and my breasts ached to respond.

After he left I fed my son, spent some time playing with him and changed him when it became apparent that it was needed before replacing him in his cot so that I could get some sleep,

I was surprised when I woke up hours later and the sun was beaming through the white curtains, the noise of my door opening had stirred me as I weakly rubbed my eyes and sat upright shifting my long ruby hair fluidly from my forehead and shoulders, Red was took like a thief caught in the act guiltily creeping in frozen in place, he briskly walked over and gruffly threw a bag towards me, "I know you said not to get you clothes or crap but you know I don't ever listen to you" he span around before I could answer to go and look into the crib where my son still slept.

A small, smug smile as I tried not to giggle at his apparent shy awkwardness rose on my face as I eagerly dug into the bag, despite all that he had already provided me with the guilt did also contend with the stirring sparks of curious joy a kid gets at Christmas. I brought out a pair of skinny dark blue jeans with frayed knees and a colourful yellow hoodie with purple stripes and DEATH wrote upon it in artful lettering amongst the bright graffiti designs; I instantly loved it upon sight but was delighted further by the thigh length thin green summer style dress also in the bag along with a small blue teddy bear. I picked it out and held it out to him, "Who is this for?" I gave a mischievous smile. He snatched it away from me clutching it protectively to his chest before skulking back to the crib and putting it inside, _Thank you so much we are truly indebted_, I bowed my head and the stern slope of his shoulders softened.

_**My soul will love you even after my body crumbles**_...he said in the kind of nonchalant tone my lips shouldn't still part with shock at that he spoke so bluntly always but my jaw still dropped. Despite the carelessness though he had not spoken it aloud, he walked towards me and I automatically stood as though our resonance drew me like a hook towards him until we were an inch apart, his arms went around my neck and something cold fell against my collarbone.

I looked down to see a gleaming silver chain to replace the necklace that Stein had broken, _Thank you_. I whispered reverently watching how its beauty caught the light, it was echoed exuberantly by my son who had just woken up and found the stuffed animal,

**_Are you going to give it a name_**? Red asked as he picked them both up in one arm and held them against the slope of his shoulder, his eyes were upon mDe despite he addressed the child.

**What should I call him**? The boy asked before suddenly blinking his bright blue eyes in surprise,** What am I called**?

Now I knew the reason for the tall flaming haired mans stare, I felt as though I was unsure that I had the right to choose my sons name without Stein present when it wasn't sure who the custodian was yet and the silence stretched as he came to kneel next to me on the futon and our son lay on his front squirming between us, sensing my feelings he clasped my hand, **_You have done everything to protect this child, he is yours. You should name him_**.

I looked from the sky walls bright as the potential my future could be should I choose it to my weapons face that I knew so well and then down to my baby boy,_ Tamashii. For your strong soul_.

Red's fangs showed as he grinned, _**Great name right, kid?**_

Anyone looking in through the window would have assumed we were a loving, happy family.


	33. A new life l

**A/N: This was written purely for CR Kira, but I dedicate it also to OrdinaryInsanity - I don't forget my fans. I read Stitched Up Souls again before writing this to refresh my memory, and I'll admit I'm not happy with how terrible it was written. I have ongoing FICs to finish for now, but I might return to Stitched Up Souls and polish it up one day. I wrote this in six hours, so please be mindful of that. Thank you again CR Kira and OrdinaryInsanity, for proving that someone enjoys my fanfics**.

A triumvirate walked through the streets of Paradise, as bright as the graffiti that coloured the walls around them. They dressed all in black, as though determined not to stand out, but that was difficult due to their appearances. Even in the swathes of people, the tall man with flaming hair, a girl with the same bright locks beside him, and the small silver haired child bridging between them - well, it was a trio that would draw attention. It hardly helped that the man in the trench-coat cut a path through the crowd; they parted before his glare like the Red Sea.

The threesome continued through the streets, occasionally pausing at a store window when the child tugged on their hands. The spiky-haired man and child spoke in hushed voices, and the woman wore earphones that blared loud rock. To the untrained eye, they looked like any other family - if one predisposed to some odd fashion choices. However, if a skilled user of Soul Perception were to see the trio, they would step back in surprise from the waves of soul-shaking power that emanated from them, even the child.

There was an unusual air around them - one of being alert, but also at ease - as though they had concerns, but were appeased that present company would sate them. The attitudes between the trine were tightly knit - one would glance at the other every so often and they would share a secret smile - the man nodded his head at the woman and she looked down to side-step a puddle of oil, they simultaneously lifted the child up by his arms and swung him into the air so he didn't tread in dog-shit.

Progress continued in this fashion until the trinity approached a dry cleaners, the man held the door open and the smaller two stepped inside, then he followed. Inside, they could barely be heard over the hum of the machines. The child squinted against the tang of the detergent. They walked past the counter, nodding to the bored-looking employee, and up the stairs that led to the apartment above. The staircase was narrow and rickety, and the child went first with slow-purposeful steps.

The woman unlocked the door, and locked it behind her once her companions were inside. Only then, did they appear to fully relax - a visible thing, as the tense energy released its grip. The woman took out her earphones and switched off the tiny purple iPod. Using her Soul Perception, she could see the protective web of her soul covering the room, and her weapon's too, thrown over everything like a cloying mist. Nothing had been touched in their absence.

"I'll get started on supper," the meister announced, as the boy sat down and began to play with his toys. The man shrugged off his long, black coat and tossed it over a chair, then turned on the television.

"I'll help," he offered, following her into the adjoining kitchenette. They didn't speak further, although they both smiled at the bright baubles of laughter from the child as he watched cartoons, and moved around each other in a subtle but evocative dance that spoke volumes despite its silence. He would reach for the cup that dropped seconds after she dislodged it, trying to reach the high shelf, or put something back in the fridge as soon as she put it back down. This way, making food was an easy and much quicker process, "I'll go run Tamashii's bath," the man announced, leaving once dinner was preparing on the stove. He is the other half of her, she feels a thread of her soul tug along with him when he walks away.

The red haired meister loaded the dirty dishes into the sink and turned on the tap, leaning her weight against the counter. She folded her arms across her chest, watching her son and the weapon as the sink filled. The room was sparse, decorated only with two greying futons and a television that had once been a good brand - the same could be said for all of the appliances in the room. Two doors indicated a bedroom and a bathroom, and a chipped mirror stood upright in one corner. The kitchen had everything it needed, a small circular table big enough for the three of them, but not enough cupboards for storage. It was the best they could afford given the circumstances. Until recently, they had moved around a lot.

In the end, it hadn't been a difficult decision to leave Death City. Given her circumstances, and the screaming baby she had held in her arms, Shinigami-Sama had accepted her resignation from the Academy, and he wasn't surprised when Red handed in his notice, too. She had argued, but he had said that if she was leaving, he was, and it was as simple as that, so she should just shut up and stop wasting her breath. In fact, that was exactly how it had went.

They travelled for a while, visiting places that they had never travelled just because they liked the names. Ash Springs. Blue Diamond. Cherry Creek. Cold Springs. Crescent Valley. There are lots of spots that have occult phenomenon, so finding work wasn't difficult, but being constantly on the road was. If they got desperate, Red applied his unique services for demolition. They stayed at motels for as long as they could, until their cash ran out or the owners politely asked them to leave, because Tamashii's noisy tears were disturbing the other guests. Back then, Tamashii had never smiled, so now she relished each laugh as a blessing. After months of moonlighting and taking up odd jobs, they settled in Paradise, as far away from the Vegas strip as they could afford. They decided that they deserved a little piece of Paradise.

"Aoihoshi. It's burning," A voice came from behind me.

"Oh!" I blinked and snapped back to the present, "I'm sorry!" I turned around, wrinkling my nose as I discovered that the frying pan was spitting noisily, and one of the pans was frothing so much it was almost overflowing. I hastily removed them, burning my hand in the progress, "Ow!" I snapped as I dropped it back onto the stove.

"What did you do?" Red sighed.

Tamashii quickly ran into the kitchen, his azure eyes wide. His lower lip trembled as he saw me gripping my injured hand, "Mommy?" He whimpered, the slip he made whenever he was scared, "W-What happened?"

I forced a smile, but tears were stinging my eyes, "I'm fine. I just had a little accident, that's all," he stared at me, mutely unconvinced, "It's okay, go watch the rest of your show. Dinner will be ready soon," he stared at me for a moment longer, then trudged back into the other room.

I watched his tiny shoulders retreat, wondering how much unseen weight was carried on his small back. I wasn't sure how much Tamashii remembered from when he was a baby, and if it was possible to retain memories from within the womb, but our life hadn't always been so peaceful. He'd refused to speak to me telepathically whenever Stein was around, as if he already knew on some instinctual level to be afraid of him.

I was reflecting on this when Red grabbed my hand and inspected it, "Baka," he scolded, dropping it as quickly as he touched it. He didn't go out of his way to touch me, not unless he had to. I supposed it was his way of making me comfortable; after all that had happened, but it made me feel worse. I'd lost the touch of every man I loved in my life, aside from my son. I sometimes wondered why he hung around at all, now we weren't collecting souls to make him a Death Scythe.

"Sorry," I whined again, as he opened the window to let out the smoke. The sunset brought out orange-amber threads in his hair. He turned off the stove, because the food was ready anyway, and bent over my hand without touching it, "Its fine-" I insisted, although I hadn't looked.

"You need to put it under cold water, at least." He bit out. I couldn't see what his expression was. Then he stood up to his full height, towering over me in an imposing way. He glanced at the full sink of soaking dishes and rolled his eyes, "Geez.." In seconds, he rolled up his sleeves and tackled the dishes.

"Wow.." My mouth dropped open as I watched. Red's insane speed was hardly ever used for household chores, "Tamashii, come see what Red is doing!" I announced, because I didn't think he'd never seen the weapon doing dishes before. The boy walked in, but the task was already completed.

"What did I miss?" The boy asked, calmer now that I was back to my usual self. Despite his youth, Tamashii had a thirst for knowledge and a vast vocabulary that belied his years, It reminded me of his Father, whom he strongly resembled. Tamashii had called Red Papa as soon as he could talk, although his first word was all mine, and we'd never corrected him. Perhaps he wondered, with that advanced brain of his, and I knew one day the time would come where we would have to sit down and talk about it. I just hoped that it wouldn't soon.

"It doesn't matter," I smiled at him and flapped my good hand at the table, "Go sit down, dinner will be ready in a second," Red turned the faucet on icy-cold, and motioned. I stuck my hand under, sighing as the water hit the burnt skin, soothing it somewhat, "I wish you'd do the dishes more often,"

Red smirked at me, revealing a little fang,, "But then you'd get bored without something to do," he began plating up the food as I kept my hand under the stream.

"Does it hurt?" Tamashii asked, his forehead pleated with concerned wrinkles.

I looked over my shoulder at him, revelling in the sight of his little legs as they kicked in the air underneath the table, his bright eyes, "It's fine," I said, turning off the faucet. I curled the hand into a fist, determined that he wouldn't see. Little did I know that every broken blister would scar in the shape of a heart.

"Just your Mom, being clumsy like usual," Red took a chair, reaching across to ruffle the boy's hair.

"I was just day-dreaming," I explained, as I served Tamashii the Saba Shioyaki. Red wrinkled his nose, because he disliked the smell of grilled mackerel. I rolled my eyes and inclined my chin towards the bowl of meat and potato stew, "I reheated the Nikujaga I made yesterday, too,"

I took a seat, and Tamashii began talking about a dream about dinosaurs he'd had, which appeared loosely based on a book he'd read before bed. I turned on my iPod and put the buds into my ears, cutting out the chatter and clink of cutlery with the blaze of thrash-metal. The two exchanged glances as I began spooning miso soup into my mouth, but said nothing. They were well used to this behaviour. I just lapsed into long stretches of silence sometimes, where I would retreat and listen to music at a volume loud enough it drowned out the rest of the world. Red called it 'Mom's Time' and said it was because I needed to just sit back and let everything flow around me for once, instead of being right in the middle of it. In a way, he was right. Sometimes the noise of my thoughts and memories were too loud, so I needed something to tune them out.

Two songs later, I munched Sunomono and watched Red's lips move, or Tamashii push brown rice onto his fork. I forked cucumber and salad into my mouth, crunching it - unaware that it was very loud because of the music. Red side-glanced at my son and pulled an agonised face, and the silver haired boy collapsed into laughter. I pulled out my earphones, "What are you laughing about?" I asked crossly, having a feeling it may have been me.

"Nothing, you finished?" Red asked smoothly, his face an impassive mask. I still didn't know how he could do that. Turn something on one minute and then switch it back off the next, so cleanly. He kept a lot of things buried.

I looked down at my plate so I wouldn't have to meet his eye for too long, and saw it was empty, "Yes." I said, then looked across at Tamashii's clean plate, "Time for your bath." I announced. The ash haired boy nodded in a solemn way, but didn't complain. He was unlike other children his age in this regard, as he was unusual in many other ways. He didn't show a lot of emotions, except fear and concern when it came to his parents, and excitement whenever he came across an encyclopaedia, documentary or educational cartoon that he hadn't seen before.

"I'll be in in a sec," Red called over his shoulder, already washing the plates at the sink. I stared at him some more. It was a day of miracles. I put one earphone back in my ear and prepared to put the other in when Tamashii said, in a voice of a child twice his age;

"I don't need you to take a bath with me, I'm six."

I smiled, "Do you want me to come and wash your hair?" I offered, and he shook his head.

"I can do it myself," he said, with quiet insistence. I shrugged and then nodded exchanging a glance with Red. The bazooka-weapon rolled his shoulders, and I watched the young boy walk into the bathroom. Tamashii was as independent for his age as he was advanced, but I didn't mind - he made it very clear that he loved me, despite the distance he craved.

"Red.." I hedged, looking at him again. The weapon sighed and dried his hands on the dish-towel, then tossed it onto the counter. He winked at me as he strolled into the bathroom.

"Hey, little man. Want to see this cool trick I can do with bubbles?" I heard, then the bathroom door closed. I heard muffled voices, and then the faucet turned so water hit the tub noisily. The pipes in the walls began to creak and rattle, like ghostly chains, as they always did.

I wiped down the kitchen and put away the dishes, then sat down and flicked through the television. There was nothing good on, so I put my second earphone in and turned the iPod back on. I turned the television back off to save electricity, then walked over to the kitchen window. The view of flat rooftops and the nest of phone-wires snaking overhead was uninspiring, so I stared at the orange and amber hues of the sky instead.

We had been here for a few months now, and had almost come close to comfortable. But not nearly as comfortable as I'd once been in Death City, a place I'd once considered my home. Was this my home now? I span on my heel and looked around the shabby apartment. True, it wasn't great, but it was ours, and it was safe. I hadn't been safe in Death City, and who knew what Stein thought about me taking his son. I hadn't waited long enough to find out.

I pivoted slowly on my heel, staring out the window at the sky once more. Thinking about the past made me want a cigarette, but I didn't smoke anymore. Quitting had been hard, but all the training I'd undergone to get back my slim figure and hone my body into a killing machine had helped. I bent over, resting my elbows on the counter and my chin on my hands. The music was loud enough that it dispelled the worst of the darkness, so I was free to concentrate on happier memories instead, such as one day, when Tamashii had approached me whilst I'd been training.

Red had been holding the punching bag, absorbing each impact it took as I hit it with my fists and feet. I was sweating, and my hair was sticking to my neck and forehead, and more than anything I wanted to take a drink from the cool bottle of water, the one Red had placed on the shelf, high out of my reach. He'd promised he would get it for me, once I'd reached 1000 kicks and 1000 punches. This might seem an easy task, but I'd just completed 1000 push-ups and used the weights, which were important because I needed to toughen up my shoulders to heft Red around in weapon-form.

"What are you doing, Mama?" A small voice enquired from behind me. I flinched and jumped around, brushing wet hair from my sticky brow. It was my son, staring at me with eyes so wide that I could see yellow threading through the blue. He had an immensely powerful soul for his age, but somehow he'd managed to sneak up on me.

"Tamashii?" Red asked, sticking his head out from the other side of the bag. Once he saw it was safe, he let go and stepped beside him, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be with the babysitter.."

I bent down and gripped him, shaking his tiny shoulders, "Tamashii?! What are you doing here?!" I screeched, causing a few of the other gym occupants to stop working out and stare at us. I tugged him towards the cubicles near the changing rooms, and Red followed, "Don't tell me you walked all the way here?"

He shook his head solemnly, "No. I took money from the emergency stash hidden in the coffee tin and hailed a taxi." He said. He was five years old at the time.

I began to shake him again, "How did you reach the coffee tin? What if the taxi driver had kidnapped you?" I bit out, my mouth dry. My heart was pounding, and I was close to hyperventilating. I was beginning to feel a little light-headed.

"Relax, Aoi.." Red mumbled, his special name for me whenever he had to calm me down. He stretched out a hand and rested it upon my shoulder, even though it was all sweaty. As soon as his fingers touched the bare skin, an instant feeling of warm calm washed through me. It was like I imagined taking a spin with ocean-breeze detergent would feel like, followed by an hour in the dryer. Only without the nausea and drowning, "He's here, safe. That's all that counts, really."

I relaxed my grip but held Tamashii at arms length, "What are you doing here?" I asked for the hundredth time, my voice calmer.

The little boy gulped, "I pulled a chair over and stood on it to reach the jar..I..I just wondered where it was you go every Friday.." He sniffed, "You left the address in case of an emergency," he explained. I was impressed, but this was hardly the time, so I wouldn't let him know that. It was amazing that my little boy had put all of that together and arrived safely. Or maybe it was just luck.

I pulled him close and hugged him, breathing in the powdery smell he still had. I hoped that he would never lose it, never grow big enough that I couldn't hold him, never be string enough that he wouldn't reach out for my hand, but I also yearned to see the man that he would become one day, "Well, it's like Red said - you're here and you're safe." I threw the tall redhead a glance, "We should call the babysitter. She's probably worried sick,"

I felt him look around over my shoulder, his head craning, "What is this place?" He paused, "It smells."

Red smirked. He had been wringing a towel into a rope, as if he intended to spank me with it. It wouldn't be the first time, "This is the gym," I explained, then added in case he hadn't read about it before, "People come here to get strong,"

He was quiet for a second, "Then why are you here?" He next asked, pointing a finger accusingly.

I rolled my shoulders. He was such a smartie, I thought he'd understand. It was obvious, "I want to become stronger," I said, wiping sweat from my neck.

Tamashii blinked and turned to Red, "But Papa is so strong already!" I smiled. I hoped that he would never lose his boyish innocence. There was a tiny part of me that was always worried he would turn out to be like his real Father. I would read over his shoulder, checking that he hadn't picked up an inappropriate book. I didn't let him own a pet, not that we could afford to feed one anyway, just in case..something happened. So far, there had been no inclinations to make me suspect that he had inherited the madness.

I shook my head to banish the dark thoughts. My iPod was in my locker, far away. I focused on my son, "He's right, Daddy will always be around to protect both of us," I said, because otherwise was unthinkable. I looked at Red, but the weapon was avoiding my eye. He folded the towel into pleats and then threw it aside, folding his arms across his chest. Was he..blushing?

The silver haired boy fixed the weapon with a determined stare, "One day I'm going to be strong, just like you," he declared in a firm voice. He sounded so sure of himself. His tiny hands were even curled into fists.

I expected Red to tease him, but instead the tall man leant down and ruffled his hair, so that it shimmered like riches, "Sure you will be, but not because of me," he straightened up and rested his hand on his shoulder, looking across at me, "You will get your strength from your Mom, and she's the most powerful one of all," he said, smiling warmly. My heart fluttered.

"You're day-dreaming again.." A nonchalant voice interrupted. I snapped back to reality so fast that I was left reeling, noticing many things all at once: Red was stood behind me; so close that I could smell him, could sense him so strongly he might have been breathing into my ear.

"S-sorry-" I stammered, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. I turned around, but he planted each hand either side of me, so that I was pinned between his arms, "R-Red..?" I whispered, his face so near that all I could see were his black eyes, pits of darkness in his pale face framed by burning hair. His soul was overpowering in such proximity.

"How's your hand?" He asked, his voice gentle. His arms are so close to touching me, there is less than an inch of space separating them from my waist. I've held the length of his body against my shoulder when he's in weapon form, and rested him propped up against my front in the same shape plenty of times. I'd forget that he was a person at all, if he didn't mentally chatter on in my ear the entire time. But that was years ago, and we haven't had a fight with an evil soul in over a year.

"F-fine," I stammered, still unperturbed by how close he was. His soul was so close to mine I could taste it. Thinking of Tamashii, I looked around him and saw the bathroom door was closed. I could hear muted giggling and guessed we had already ran out of shampoo yet again. I was almost accustomed to the domestic life now.

"He's okay," he said, sensing my train of thought. He caught my eye and held it, an easy grin coming over his face. It was strange, to watch this new, unguarded Red. He used to be the one who would shield his mind from me, always holding a piece of himself back, in reserve. I was just as stubborn, but despite butting heads and arguing, secretly both of us were too scared of being alone to abandon another partner. I think even then, I'd somehow reached out to him, "He's got the rubber ducks and the submarine, so he'll be in there a while."

I nodded slowly, looking at the way his arms framed my body, "W-Want to watch something on TV?" I asked, although he didn't like it and I knew there was nothing good on to watch. My voice quivered a little, and he shrugged.

"Alright." He leaned away from me and I felt a little disappointment as the warmth from his proximity vanished. Weird. I don't know why I felt that way, because I'd been the one wound up all tense because he was stood so close. I pushed past him without catching his eye, collapsing onto the love-seat. It was cracked in some places, and wheezed quietly when I sat down. I grabbed the remote to distract myself, pretending to watch the screen as I surfed the channels.

When he joined me, he sat so close the fine hair on my bare arm tingled. I inched away to give myself the buffer zone I needed, and then tried to block him out, to concentrate on the buzz of the television, on Tamashii's distant laughter, on the hitched breathing of the weapon beside me, as hyper-aware of my proximity as I was of his. Red was hard to ignore. Finding nothing interesting, I threw the remote in his direction and ran my fingernails into the pits and scars of the love-seat. I felt like Red was hogging all the oxygen.

He said nothing, and repeated the mind-numbing process of flicking through programmes. For a long time, we both sat staring at the screen, neither of us really paying attention. The heat radiating from his big frame penetrated my sweater and jeans, warming my skin, making my head reel. I yawned sleepily, my eyes slowly drifting shut. As soon as I feel asleep, my body couldn't support itself and slid sideways to land against his arm, "A-Aoi?" He stuttered, showing an uncharacteristic bemusement. Realising I was asleep, he sighed - feeling the air cool his heated cheeks - and slid an arm around me, so that I was nestled against him. He turned down the volume and glanced down. The crooked part of my hair, as pink and raw as a newborns skin. Something about it was so fragile and delicate. I had faint shadows under my eyes, as if I was always tired. Feeling my breath fall against his arm, which was almost undoing him, he moved his hand to smoothly slide over my hair instead, "Geez.." He mumbled, after a while had passed.

I stirred and his head snapped back up, pretending to focus on the shifting colours onscreen. By the time my eyes opened, he was staring at the television as if I wasn't there. I was resting against something very warm, and very comfortable. I slowly woke up properly, my blurry eyes focusing, squinting at the bright jewel tones of his hair. I realised my precarious position, and squeaked, "O-oh! S-sorry.." I slid an inch or two away from him. My soul had been snuggled up to his, but it snapped away with the sharp speed of an elastic band. His fingers twitched belatedly, as if to grab the air, but then his hand dropped to fall beside his leg.

"It's fine. We've had to sleep close together to conserve heat before," he said. Startled by his reply, I glanced over to find him watching me. His firm mouth twitched with suppressed humour, his eyes gleaming with appreciation as they moved lazily over my face.

"I-I must be tired.." I excused, fanning my cheeks. My face felt very warm. Just looking at him made old feelings surface from someplace deep within me and ripple outward to suffuse my entire body. Peace, sorrow, wistful yearning—and a wariness that clenched my stomach. I'd been dreaming of something bad - a dark room full of bright, sharp things - I remembered a glimpse of a cruel, but perfect smile; light, flashing off circular lenses. Glasses. Stein. Before the breath-stealing panic could consume me, I grabbed an earphone in preparation for the onslaught.

"You didn't have to move.." Red mumbled, in a very quiet and hesitant voice. My gaze shifted to his mouth, and I resisted an urge to move farther away. The curve at the corners of his mouth slowly became a full-fledged grin, and my beating heart quietened. His eyes always started to twinkle first. Then his cheek dimpled as that devastating grin took hold. It never failed to make my knees weak, as it did now. What had I been so scared about? I couldn't remember, so I dropped the concern.

"I'm finished!" Tamashii shouted, and we both sprang apart, the thick air cloying with what might have been. Red's face was smooth and blank again, like the reflection of the moon in a calm pond. His dark eyes dragged over me once, before he grabbed the remote and began punching the buttons with his thumb. I couldn't glean a single thought, but his movements hinted at some thinly veiled frustrations.

"I'm coming!" I replied, forcing a smile—one of those awful stiff ones that made my face feel as if it were smeared with egg white. So, this was how it would go. Both of us pretending that me falling asleep on him was the most natural thing in the world. Well, two could play at that game. I shook my head as I walked to the bathroom. My previous relationship should have forever banished romantic notions from my head. Maybe, I reflected, it was true that hope springs eternal in the human breast, because there remained within my a deep, aching need to be loved and cherished, "I'm here," I announced.

"I was pretending to be a merman," Tamashii said, brushing matted hair from his eyes.

I snagged a towel and he stood upright, water sluicing down his bare body, "You mean a mermaid?"

"No, Mama. Mermaids are girls," he corrected. I swaddled a towel around him, giving him his privacy, but surreptitiously checking for cuts, too. Stein had started experimenting on himself at a very early age, after all. As always, relief flooded through me as I found his pale skin unharmed.

"You're right." I smiled at how clever my little boy was, towelling his hair dry. He looked like a little emperor, the towel wrapped around him like a toga. When I was finished, he lined his toys along the rim of the bath the way he liked them, and I pulled out the plug. He'd once been fascinated by that - where would the water go? He would ask questions about anything he didn't understand, and then if my explanation didn't satisfy him, he'd go read through every book we owned until he was happy. He had lost a lot of his childish innocence and imagination because of his thirst for knowledge.

"Are you going to read me another story tonight?" He asked as I changed him into his pyjamas, navy blue and patterned with pencils, the words slurring a little.

I pulled him up onto my hip, and he didn't resist because he was tired, "Of course," He laced his arms around my neck, resting his cheek against mine, "Are you still hungry? Do you want a snack?"

He slowly shook his head, "No," he said. The single word sounded like an effort. I wondered if he would fall asleep before we reached the bedroom. I emerged from the cloud of steam, my son clinging onto my side like a limpet.

"Worn out from your underwater adventure, kid?" Red asked, looking over his shoulder. He had both arms stretched out along the back of the love-seat, the muscles in his neck bunching.

"He ran around the park a lot today," I excused, soothingly rubbing Tamashii's back in small circles.

"Mno I'mnot.." He blustered, sleepily rubbing his eyes.

I smiled and patted him, "Its okay to admit when you're tired. We'll read the chapters on giraffes that we started yesterday,"

"..Kay.." He agreed, his voice even quieter. His head dropped against the crook of my neck, and his breathing abruptly went shallow and even. He must have been exhausted, but we had visited a museum and a zoo that day. It had taken a long time, because he'd wanted to see each exhibit and every single animal, and read all the available information on the place-cards in front of each. He'd even spent an hour talking to the tour guide, until he deemed her knowledge more limited than his. Then, his head snapped back up, "Are you coming, Papa?" He said, suddenly.

"Sure," Red eased himself upright - the tallest point of his spiky hair almost brushing the ceiling, and unfolded his long body, "Come on," he walked over and rose an arm, as if he wanted to take him from me, but then just gently patted his head instead. Through our soul resonance, I could feel how much Red loved Tamashii - how he wanted to protect a piece of me - but during the darker part of the night, he worried that the boy could accidentally be harmed by Red's destructive powers. For as long as he could remember, he had been used as a tool for annihilation of the enemy, even when Shinigami-Sama took him in and he was introduced to the bonds of meister and weapon.

I put Tamashii to bed, drawing the covers underneath his chin how I knew he liked them, "Comfortable?" I asked, but his eyes had closed as soon as his head hit the pillow. There would be no need to read a book to him tonight. I sat down on the edge of the mattress, feeling Red's warm presence just behind me, "You have such a special soul." I smoothed Tamashii's tousled silver hair, my gaze fixed on the small downturned face that Red claimed so closely resembled my own. In all honesty, though, I couldn't remember ever having been that cute. Tamashii's slim features were almost elfin. I felt a surge of love just from looking at him, "I knew you would be a special boy before you were born."

His eyes opened and he blinked once, "H-how.." He paused, a mighty yawn swallowing his words. I startled, I thought he'd dropped off already, "H-how did you know that, Mama?" He finished.

"My soul perception is very strong." I smiled, ruffling his hair again. I bent to kiss his cheek, and then stepped back so Red could have his turn, "And your soul is very strong, too. That's how how I could tell," I said. It was true. Tamashii's soul had been such a strong presence that I'd felt it before my pregnancy bulge became obvious. I'd grown used to carrying him inside of me, and six years later I still found it terrifying that he could now be subjected to a whole world of hurt, no longer cocooned within my protective womb.

"Night, champ," Red mumbled, still feeling like an intruder during intimate moments like this. He would look at Aoihoshi - then at his own murderous hands, which in his nightmares were stained with blood that never washed clean - and wished that he'd been gifted hands of healing, instead. How could these hands, that had taken so many lives, hold an untainted mother and her child? He rubbed the child's damp curls and fled to the doorway, before his perceptive partner could pick up on his private agony. He was worried for nothing, because I was bent over my child again, whispering sweet words his keen hearing could still discern. Sometimes, he wished that she would speak to him that way.

"I love you, Tamashii-kun," I said, smoothing my hand down one side of his face one last time. His eyes were closed, lashes feathering against his cheek. I'd tell myself this would be the last time I'd touch him, that I didn't need more proof that he was real and solid and breathing beneath me, but then I'd stroke his brow again, "Have sweet dreams, my soul and heart. Only sweet dreams," I watched him for one more long moment, leant against the doorframe, and then shut the door.

Sweet dreams. That had become my mantra, to myself each night before I fell asleep, for I often jerked awake from nightmares, my heart pounding and my body drenched with sweat. I was coming to accept that no matter how far I ran, I would never feel safe.

I closed my eyes wearily and rubbed a hand over my face. When I opened them again, Red was staring at me in a regarding way, "Maybe we should put you to bed, too," he said, his voice deadpan. A filament of sensation sizzled between us, like a thin string of kerosene that, for the love of a match, could turn into a wall of fire.

"I-I'm not tired," I said, although it was pointless to lie to him. I was because Tamashii had dragged me around by the hand the entire day. My legs felt like lead, but I wasn't about to tell him that and prove him right. There was probably a lot of chores that still had to be done, I hadn't dusted in two days, and I had to look in the fridge to see what we needed to make a grocery list.

I waited for him to call me a liar, but he just dragged his eyes appraisingly over me again. I couldn't see a hint of anything other than mild concern for my welfare. He tsk'd, a sharp noise through his fangs, and suddenly pulled me over his shoulder. The movement was so quick and smooth that it took me a second to realise what had happened. He carried me across the room as I pummelled his back with my fists, muffling my shrieks with his shirt as we passed Tamashii's room, then laid me down with gentle accuracy across the two futons, "There," he stretched out beside me, a guarded distance again between us, "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

I stared at him in mute anger, too furious to answer. His dark eyes flicked across - saw my venomous look - and I felt the shudders as his body rumbled with quiet laughter. Then he glanced away, and after a few seconds I stopped glaring at him and stared at the ceiling. The watermarks in the plaster formed shapes with the hands of my imagination, a broken heart, a hunched figure, a soaring swan. For a while, we lay there in silence; he only moved to crook his arms underneath his head, and I didn't move at all. My anger abated, and the feeling of exhaustion returned, sapping the last of my stubborn mood.

I rolled over; outlining the side of his profile with my eyes, his strong jaw and straight nose, the point of his chin and pencil-sketches of his eyebrows, the crepe-paper of his eyelids. I told myself that I wasn't admiring him, "Tell me a story," I said, finally.

He didn't reply for so long that I thought he must be asleep, and when his eyes finally opened they were misted, "Once upon a time," he said, in a voice as if he were talking to himself or nobody in particular, "There was a princess, who was as kind as she was beautiful and strong," he stared up at the ceiling as I had earlier, and I wondered if he interpreted the same shapes as me, "She was more perfect a creature than she knew, weak only to the powerful and evil alchemist that held her captive-"

I rolled away from him, curling my body up into a foetal position. The familiar scene had struck a negative chord. Why was he bringing that up now? Was he trying to hurt me? I hugged my knees to my chest, mumbling into them, "Forget it..shut up.." In the quietest voice I'd used that day. I didn't even have the heart to get angry, because the mere mention of this subject had all the wind rushing out of me, like sagging sails on a calm day.

I heard him turn over, felt him close the distance between us, near enough that his next words fell on the back of my neck, "The princess saw the good in everybody, even in those that everybody else scorned.." He was quiet for a moment, then continued in a gentle voice, "..One day, fate led her to look upon a broken man, and only she saw his worth,"

"Red.." I whispered. Without looking back, I reached for his hand and found that even something as innocent as the lacing of our fingers could raise all the hairs on the back of my neck and make my blood beat faster. Have you ever really held the hand of someone you love? Not just in passing, a loose link between you - but truly clasped, with the pulses of your wrists beating together and your fingers mapping the knuckles and nails like a cartographer learning a country by heart? I have.

He froze, his entire body becoming very still. He stared down at our conjoined hands, his lips parting slightly, "He fell in love with her, and he came to her rescue, becoming her champion.." He finished, but I was sound asleep, our hands still interlocked.


	34. A new life ll

I was surrounded by darkness. I'm dreaming, I told myself, my eyes attracted to the only source of light in the room; a pale silver. The moonlight? No, it was the wrong shape. Whatever it was it swam closer, until I caught the flash of a tight-lipped smile below a pair of polished spectacles. The slice of a scalpel, shining as brightly as his glasses and hair. It's just a dream, I reminded myself, only no matter how I tried to wake up, I couldn't. The familiar spectre rushed at me, and I rose my arms protectively. It struck me how utterly useless my meister abilities were, without a weapon. The darkness surged forwards and snaked out to grip around my throat. My legs collapsed, but my body was held aloft and the pressure against my larynx prevented me from screaming. The darkness split, revealing a grin as bright and deadly as the blade. All I could do was cry, quiver with fear, and pray I woke up before the scalpel descended.

I didn't.

The sound of sobbing snapped me to a sitting position in bed. The sheet was tangled around my legs. My breath came in wheezy jerks. Perspiration ran in rivulets over my ribs. Rain patters against the window, and I remember Red once saying that it always rained whenever I was crying. It is very dark, so dark I look around - expecting that shadowy figure. There's nobody, except Red who is lay on his side next to me, his eyes open and already focused on mine as I search for his. Even awake, I could still feel the blade dragging across my ribs, the sting and rise of blood.

"You had a bad dream," he said, a statement not a question. I noticed that were were still holding hands, but right now I didn't want to break away. I looked around once more now that my eyes had adjusted, but there was still nobody there. Who would be able to creep up on us anyway, in present company? I went out my soul perception, finding Tamashii deeply asleep. I considered that a small victory.

I laid back down but didn't closed my eyes, because I wasn't ready to fall asleep again just yet. I wasn't ready to talk about it, either, so the silence just stretched on. He didn't pressure me to talk about it, the same way he didn't prod me about a lot of other things. I smiled a little. Really, the only time he bugged me was when it concerned my safety - or more accurately, when I was compromising it. I rolled onto my side, looking from our locked hands to his face, "Am I still dreaming?" I asked. I looked back at the long, sure fingers he was steadily twining between mine. I still found myself struggling to adjust to such a seemingly normal, affectionate thing.

"No.." He replied, his breath fanning over my face. It had a faint scent of cinnamon, and the charred smell he always carried around. It was never removed from his clothes, no matter how many times I washed them. There were other things I couldn't erase for Red too, like his past. It was just as painful as mine. Whilst I had fought for my life and sanity in a one-sided and violent relationship, Red had battled to keep his sanity in the Middle East. Recruited as a fourteen year old into the Military Secret Service, who sought to take advantage of his newly awakened powers, he was imprisoned by the terrorists and after three years of brutal torture, killed his captors. He returned to the USA, only to be tortured further, believed to be a sleeper cell. Shinigami-Sama had come forward and taken the teenager into his care after another year of abuse, "Or perhaps you are.." He added, sensing my distraction.

As grim as my situation was, I shoved away my memories of the nightmare and felt peace settle over me again, "I should check on Tamashii-" I paused. His soul had just coyly snuggled up to mine, before retreating again. It was dizzying, and he knows this, because he chuckled.

"And who is going to take care of you?" He asked, his soul rubbed up against me like a contented cat. To anybody watching, it would look as though we were simply lying there, just holding hands, but his soul was advancing on me the same way a colourful bird dances to attract its mate.

"I don't need somebody to take care of me.." I replied in a meek voice, coyly averting my eyes. I didn't sound very convincing.

"Yes, you do," he disagreed, in a soft voice that somehow reminded me of when I first woke up, a pleasant dream on my tongue and the comfort of warm sheets cocooning me. His soul had floated away from mine again, but something had unlocked inside me to awaken in a throbbing redness. Sensing this, his soul ever so gently touched mine again before distancing itself once more.

My chest began to flutter erratically, what little parts of my skin that remained pale flushed, "He could wake up," I insisted.

"He won't, you saw for yourself how exhausted he was," he argued in a perfectly logical voice. And he was right. And he knew he was right. I usually hated that, especially when he wore the slightly condescending expression he wore now, but I was muddled and could feel my resistance melting.

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly very dry. It was quiet, and one of us had to speak, and he was waiting and wouldn't say anything until I did. Hours could pass this way until I caved in, so I might as well just give now, "Is that what you want to do, Red? Take care of me?" I mumbled, looking away at an uninteresting patch of carpet. I could hardly believe I'd spoken the words aloud, but they hung there now - as rude and unforgivable as a belch. He had told me that he loved me, but that had been a long time ago, and he hadn't touched me since. Our soul resonance paled in comparison to its former vitality.

He bent his face close to mine so his hair tickled my cheeks, "Yes, I want that very much." He admitted. I recalled how every time Shinigami-Sama asked if he would like to be reassigned, he would say: Only Aoihoshi will do. I swallowed again, somehow twice as nervous as before. It was quiet for a minute, and then he asked, "What do you want, Aoihoshi?"

I thought about it. Right this second, I didn't know what I wanted. My eyes settled on our hands; his was so large and strong in comparison to mine, our palms pressed flush together, then my gaze travelled up his arm, across the broad expanse of his chest. I was admiring him, I realised, and further more I wanted to take off his shirt. I wanted to see him without it, more accurately. But was it really that simple? Could I just do that, because I wanted it this way?

Without a word, I pulled my hand away from his and started on his buttons. He pulled back, stretching out the length of his body across the futon so that I could access them easier, but it still took a while because my fingers were shaking. Red watched me the entire time, with the impassive expression that made it impossible to glean his thoughts. Even his soul was keeping a respectable distance from mine. I pulled it down his shoulders, and a shudder ran through him. He was sculpted with the kind of impressive physique all weapons have, but taller so there was a hell of a lot more of it. I rested my hand underneath his collarbone and his torso twitched. His jaw tightened, and I felt that he was fighting hard to hold himself in check. I gestured to my own hoody and squeaked, "S-should I-"

"If you're comfortable," he replied in an easy voice, as if we were discussing what brand of cereal to buy and it didn't matter to him either way. I looked down at myself, and then at him lay beneath me.

Was I comfortable? I thought of the many times he had shielded me from the worst of the pain Stein inflicted with his comforting aura, and used his healing wavelength to repair my broken body after an argument. The day of my first pre-natal with Nygus, he had stepped in for Stein who I discovered was secretly still intimate with Marie, at what would soon be our family home. Red had stressed the importance of being true to my own feelings that day. Strangers often mistook us for lovers, or brother and sister because of our close demeanour and similar hair-colour. What were we, really? Aside from meister and weapon, and victims thrown together by unfortunate circumstances and chance. I wanted to find out for myself.

We stared at each other in silence, until I realised that he wasn't going to do it, and I had to do it myself. I took a moment to summon courage, and then pulled my sweater over my head, fiery ropes cascading down over my shoulders. It took me another moment to regain my composure, and then I peeled away the lacy shell of my bra. I felt a few flashes of mild embarrassment which didn't last, but I figured it was just residual guilt. Now that I was single, I didn't need to feel bad about this- everything was just as it should be, I just needed to learn.

Red's dark eyes up roved over my torso impassively, but his tongue flicked out to run along the razor-edge of his fangs. He looked no more excited than he would if staring out the window, at a rainy day, but I could see the front of his jeans had tented. It's discovery left me facing all kind of complicated feelings. I'd never had sex with Red before, but of course I wasn't a virgin.

Emboldened by this new sense of power, and inquisitive about its effects too, my soul rubbed against his a little harder and then darted back playfully. Red's torso spread out like a feast before me, his dark eyes curious and hopeful as he pillowed his arms beneath his head. I crossed my arms over my breasts, although my nipples were covered by my hair. His soul lapped tiny tendrils of its glowing matter towards me, coaxing before dissipating, "I-I don't know what to do.." I admitted, ducking my head shyly.

"Anything you want.." He stretched up an arm and lightly brushed my chin with the tip of his thumb, so soft I may have imagined it. I'd never been touched by anyone the way he touched me before, as if I were something valuable. I suppose it was the same way I held him in weapon form, my body fitting around his with practiced confidence. When he was in human form, he was reserved and I kept my distance, because his human proximity made me a blundering mess. It hadn't always been this way, back when I'd been with Stein, and I'd considered any intimacy with Red purely a plutonic means to strengthen our Resonance.

"Oh.." I mumbled, feeling something brush against my jaw. My eyes focused, and my own conflicted reflection stared back at me from the black mirrors of Red's eyes. He had noticed my distance, and the air between us had cooled. His arm dropped down. I ran my hands over my shoulders, feeling insecure. My palm abraded uneven tissue, where Stein had attacked me in the shower and used a razor-blade to cut off a heart-shaped piece of my skin. It wasn't my only scar; a thin, slim puckering rippled across my abdomen and I had so many on the inside, that you couldn't see.

"I've lost you," Red intruded, his voice immeasurably woeful, as if it held all the misery of the world and more. Red had once told me that I was the reason he stuck around, and when he wasn't hanging out with me he was asleep. I'd thought he was joking, but I'd come to see that it seemed his actions did mirror or come as a byproduct of whatever I did. He'd always managed to pop up most confidently when I needed comforting, and when I confronted him about that, he said how else would he be able to cheer me up?

I forced a smile and told myself to focus on the present, the here and now, "Never," I insisted, eager to put the horrible memory of Stein behind me. Tamashii was the only good thing to have come of my relationship with the mad scientist, and I was going to raise him to be nothing like his real Father.

"Where did you go?" The weapon pressed, sensing my mind beginning to wander again. I allowed my soul to brush up against his; like a pet learning to trust it's owners touch. Such a dark thing roaming behind those eyes of his. A sorry, lost creature. Desperate to come home. To come in out of the cold.

"It doesn't matter," I pressed, watching his eyes trace the lines of me. The lump in his throat bobbed and he averted his eyes, I noted with some smug satisfaction. He wasn't as blind to my body as he liked to pretend he was! His eyes snapped back to mine with piercing astuteness - that brief glimpse of boyish shyness gone. His soul began to brush gently with a hypnotising slowness against mine - as though charming a snake. My eyes drifted partially-shut; I peeked through my lashes down at the tenting front of his trousers. It looked..big.

At the sight I swallowed nervously and blinked. I met his gaze and realised he'd been watching me all the while. My face flushed the hottest shade of red possible, without my entire head exploding, "Where is your mind wandering?" He accused, letting out a short bark of a laugh. It sounded weird, because Red didn't laugh often and he'd kind of forgotten how to do it normally.

"N-nowhere!" I managed to force out, although it was useless to lie to him. He anchored his arm around my neck and pulled me down against his chest, pillowing his head under his free bicep, "H-hey-" I froze, my body all tense and uncomfortable, expecting him to make another move. But he didn't, and after a few seconds had passed I relaxed a little. His torso looked like it was carved from unflawed ivory, but it was very warm. I could hear his heartbeat. It was in perfect rhythm with mine - as unified as our souls.

"This isn't so bad, is it?" He asked, after a long moment had passed. I was beginning to feel a little sleepy after all, but some part of me was still alert and listening for if Tamashii woke up. I nodded mutely, my heart so full that I couldn't speak, "It could be like this all the time, if you wanted," he added, conversationally. I didn't know how to reply to that, so the silence stretched on. I stared at the spot of his neck that I could see, just below his jawline. The skin there was no different to anywhere else on his body, but it looked so inviting that I wanted to kiss it. I was fighting the temptation when he said, "You're so close but.." He paused, his voice unravelling. He met my eye, where I can see the flint-spark of excitement and hope, "..I want to feel you closer,"

"R-Red.." I stuttered, pushing my weight onto my elbows. His mouth was set in a firm line, and his burning eyes were as serious and resolute as they were in battle. He was stretched out like a tiger, one that displayed its tummy and invited me to stroke it, yet didn't hide its deadly claws.

His hand pulled a lock of my hair through his fingers before he let it fall against my shoulder, "I want to feel the same way I do when we Resonate..." he rose his hand to touch my cheek, then thought better of it, "..Like we're two halves of the same whole,"

"But Tamashii is in the next room-" I protested. He studied my expression. Beneath the mussed hair, my cheeks were bright with a blush that fanned from my neck down to my breasts. Could he sense the pulsating core between my legs? I averted my eyes towards the closed bedroom door - my defences weakening for a moment.

"The door is shut, he won't hear us," his soul teased up against mine, circling around and rubbing gently but insistently, "I promise to be gentle, if you try and keep quiet," My eyes drifted shut. Suddenly, I'd didn't what to think: About what was happening right now, or what had happened, and I didn't want to think about what would happen after this. I didn't want to think at all.

"We can't-" I whispered, but this time I couldn't find the strength to push him away.

"Stop worrying for once, and enjoy yourself." His soul stroked against mine, "Don't you think you deserve it?"

"D-deserve w-what..?" I stammered. He wasn't touching me physically, but his proximity was so close that I could feel burning arcs of his power glide over me, through me.

The noise of shifting. I felt his breath cool my skin, and opened my eyes. His face was less than four inches away, and close the tip of his nose grazed against mine. "To be loved," he said. I didn't reply. How could I find the words to tell him that a heart with so many stress fractures would never be anything but broken.


	35. A new life lll

I spent the first hour simply touching Red, marvelling at his jawline traced beneath my fingertip, or how my hair cascaded between his fingers. Countless minutes were shared, just touching, lost in the depths of each other's eyes. Each motion was slow and with purpose, sensations drawn out to impossible heights. My fingertips lingered over the pulse of his wrist, the nape of his neck – the spots where his blood hums; my hands dance over his chest, lightly alighting like a butterfly, and ghosting through his hair. A tendril of his soul lashed out and coiled around mine. In response, something inside of me tightened with a delicious heat. It was a familiar feeling, but also foreign, like spotting an acquiescence you haven't seen in a long time and don't know how to greet properly.

"Aoi~" Red gasped, the first word he'd said in a while. He could feel it, if he let it. The realisation, buzzing on the outer edges of his conscious mind. Something so close, but just out of reach. The reality of what it could be. What it would be like to really be with me. His hands stay clenched at his sides, shaking with thinly leashed control.

"W-what?" I lean back, studying his expression. I'm straddling him, something I'd never suspected myself capable of doing, and my hands are still on his chest. I can see it in his burning eyes, hear it in his agonised voice - how dearly he wants to touch me. I look at his trembling hands, and decided to do this for both of us. I would give him this one small thing.

I gently took his hand and framed one side of my face with it. His eyes widen, as if he cannot trust what I am doing. His hand is as hot as a brand. I like the idea of him burning me, erasing the past in cleansing fire so that I can be reborn anew, a Phoenix. He tilts my head gently, like a china doll he's examining for fractures. Each breath falls against my lips. The hairs on my arms and the nape of my neck rose, and as his soul rubs against mine, my heart flutters.

I slowly lowered myself back down against his chest. His arms came around my waist to steady me, hesitantly at first - as if he couldn't believe my response, the width of his hands nearly spanning the distance between my hip bones, "Aoi.." He whispered again, a curse and a prayer all at once. Our souls brushed against each other again - harder this time. His soul settled against mine and stayed a hairs breadth apart. His scent wafted against me in waves and made me dizzy. It was like the sea, slowly eroding against a cliff. It would take time, even years, but eventually the rock would crumble and sink.

My eyes drifted shut as his soul whispered against mine once more, and I craned my neck forwards expectantly. After a cold moment of crushing disappointment, I opened my eyes and realised that he wasn't going to kiss me. He hardly did anymore. Ever since he'd discovered every brutal detail that had happened between me and Stein, he rarely made the first move. My hands went up of their own accord, framing that pale face, greedy for the sharp planes of his cheekbones and jaw. I rose up on my elbows and just did it. Pressed my lips to his. Crushed them, really. Feeling like such a novice all of a sudden. Forgetting everything I ever knew about how to kiss. But my inexperienced kiss..It made him groan. A low rumble of pleasure right against my mouth. I kissed him like I'd never kissed a man before, and needed to find out how everything felt and tasted. Except that at the same time I kind of knew what to do.

Red told himself that he wasn't going to do this. Not going to screw me in a dingy apartment somewhere when I was so precious to him. This sort of thing called for four-poster beds and cart-loads of rose petals and those little tea-light candles burning everywhere. And champagne. This sort of thing was done with champagne. Perhaps even a wedding ring-

"I've lost you," I said, a little stung that he was day-dreaming whilst I was sat on top of him, with an utterly bared torso at that.

He didn't answer right away. I focused on his silence. He was just lying there, staring at me. He looked for all the world as if he were just a little afraid. Not afraid of me. Just...afraid, "Never," he replied easily, "Just promise me.." He swallowed and averted his eyes, "Promise me that you aren't thinking about him.." He mumbled.

I laced my arms around his neck, staring into his eyes even as he tried to avoid me, "Who?" I asked, and his head slowly turned to face me, like a flower leaning towards the sun. I lifted his hands to the waist of my jeans - only to have Red move his arms back to his sides. He won't do it. He wants me too. I slipped out of them, and then my panties too, blushing under his gaze, my fingers fumbling. It was becoming easier to gauge his emotions. Right now he felt excited but cautious - for me, he was wondering if I really wanted to go this far.

"Do you want this?" He finally asked, his voice a low growl. His soul shimmered.

I asked myself again if I wanted this. If I continued, there would be no going back, "I-I might not be good enough for you.." I hedged, and something behind his eyes darkened, "I might n-not satisfy you.." I dithered. The answer was unavoidable. I'd never felt sensations like this before and I felt utterly safe and secure in his company. Our compatibility was too strong to overlook. My bodies instinctive reaction was yes. My attraction to him was undeniable. The more I thought about it, I guessed he would be a protective and considerate lover. I finally nodded, and that was all the response Red needed. He didn't move from his languid pose, but his soul chased after mine and circled in a tight, dizzying way. I stretched myself across him again, although it took most of my willpower not to cross my arms over my chest in a silly virginal gesture. I felt a little embarrassed because he was still half covered - but his trousers seemed a daunting task to try and remove with my inexperienced fingers.

After so long, he finally reached for me. For a moment there was silence, and his knuckles grazed against the skin of my stomach. His soul gently but insistently nudged mine. We both looked down to marvel at the comparison of his thick arm encircling my tiny waist. He bent his head, offering the confession from his lips to mine, "You've always been the only thing that I've ever wanted all to myself." His soul massaged mine until I was certain of the urgency of his need. I arched my back, nipples slightly abrading against his chest. My soul openly sought out his and the two pushed against each other.

"Can I...take off your jeans, too?" I asked hesitantly, my hands suddenly feeling useless and heavy - unsure of where to put themselves. I fought against hiding in the curtain of my hair. I had that embarrassing sense of inexperience again. I could see the hard ridge of what looked to be a painfully contained erection beat with a pulse all of its own.

He nodded, although I could see his cheek colouring a little in the dim light. It made me feel a little better, knowing I wasn't alone in my shyness, "You don't have to ask,"

It took a minute, and I was beginning to damn all belts to Hell and considering tearing the damn thing in half, but I worked them free of his legs eventually. The plum weight of him rose into my outstretched hand. With a confidence I felt that I lacked, I moved my hand and it twitched like an awakening animal. Red sighed happily as though I were relieving him of some great pain; I looked up at him to notice his eyes had shut. His soul drifted into close proximity with mine, humming, as cast threads of its matter to wrap around his.

Taking advantage of his defenceless position, I pressed my lips against his and felt his entire body tremble beneath me. It felt so right. His soul began to quake against mine. On the physical plane, his erection dug into the corner of my inner thigh. I was beginning to worry if this was going to hurt, when he said, "You taste so sweet, Aoihoshi.." He clamped my chin, the tip of his nose rubbing across mine as he smoothed his thumb along my lower lip, "Sweeter than any soul I've ever eaten," His soul whipped out lines of light and encircled mine, "I want to taste you all over, until I've tasted every part of you," he whispered, an inch away from my mouth, "I don't want to leave an inch of you untouched.." He pressed a kiss underneath my ear, and then lower on my neck. I shivered, "I often think about how delicious your soul would be.." He confessed, grazing his fangs lightly.

My spine arched, "Ah-" I gasped, before I could contain it. A kindling fire sparked between our souls and the middle of my legs.

"So sweet.." He whispered, in a growl that made my toes curl. More beams issued from both of our souls to penetrate each-other. He rubbed his lips against the crook of my shoulder, and then rose his head to stare at me with lusty, half-lidded eyes, "Can I show you how a real man is supposed to make love to you?" He asked. I looked deep into his dark eyes, reflecting on the memories of every fight when he had protected me, how heavily I had relied on him when I broke up with Stein.

I nodded in reply, and he cautiously lifted his hips. We fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, erasing the boundaries of where one of us ends and the other begins, "O-oh," I breathed, expecting pain and receiving none. We shared simultaneous inhale and surrendered to what we became together

"Is...this hurting you?" I heard him ask hesitantly, moving his hands to clasp my waist. Our souls rippled beside each other. I had anticipated it to hurt after so long, but it didn't.

"No," I shook my head and smiled, linking my arms around his neck, "It doesn't at all, so I was just surprised,"

"We're a perfect fit," he said, at the same time I said,

"So this is what I've been missing," I feasted upon the strange, beautiful creature our bodies presented connected to one another. Our souls radiated undeniable waves of pleasure, so intense I could feel it wash in waves lapping over my body and consciousness. His soul was a volcano, and I was a tiny blue star at its boiling, churning heart, burning with my own inner light.

Then, he lost himself within me. I wanted it to be slow, to draw out every sensation, but we couldn't. I needed him. I wanted him. Every fantasy that he's entertained over the last eight years was suddenly before him and my body was opening doorways within me that had been forgotten under the dust of the passing years. I touched as much of him as I could reach, soon learning the places he liked by his encouraging groans, sculpting down his back, heaving beneath me; as though I was committing him to memory with every touch.

His soul gyrated against mine, and mine responded in kind. They were so close. I could feel it, just as I could feel him inside of me. I felt full. For the first time since I could recall, the hollow sensation I carried had vanished. My hips began to clumsily chafe against his with an unspeakable neediness. "Ah! Ah~!" I whimpered between exhales of delicious air. It became increasingly difficult to contain my thoughts as my body attuned to the pistons of his hips, "R-Red~!" I moaned.

He rested his forehead against mine, so that I had no option but to stare into his eyes, "Aoi, can you feel me making love to you?" I shivered straight to my soul, and nodded, "Can you feel me showing you how you're suppose to be treated? This is love, it doesn't hurt, understand?"

"Red!" I repeated with greater urgency than I recognised. My voice didn't sound like my own. One moment his soul was beside mine and the next the barriers slipped. I keened as I saw a sudden rush of white, "S-Soul-" I whimpered in a voice that didn't sound like mine. His soul slid into mine and I felt a hot explosion of fluid erupting inside of me, "-Resonance~!"

I was Red, and he was me. Both of us were inside of each other, looking at each other and at the same time still a part of ourselves. His thoughts were inside my mind and I felt everything that he did, as well as my own thoughts and the pleasure bestowed upon my own body. It was the most intimate moment I'd ever experienced. The weapon gave a final thrust and we moaned in magical, musical unison. He kissed me, and all I saw was stars as the Heavens and Universe opened up like a flower before me.


End file.
